


Lightning Struck Cherry Tree

by annelea



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Children, F/M, Family, Fluff, Friendship, M/M, Polyamory, Smut, Team
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-16
Updated: 2016-06-16
Packaged: 2018-07-15 09:14:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 17
Words: 38,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7216495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/annelea/pseuds/annelea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fifteen-year-old Tenzou and Nineteen-year-old Kakashi have an awkward conversation.  Little do they know that the deal they make will lead to the happiest and saddest moments of their lives.  Juggling a blended family with work, they try their best to keep things together both for each other and the woman they both love.</p><p>AU bits: Itachi is alive, Kakashi still has Obito's eye.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. An Agreement

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally published on FFN in chunks, written way out of order. Here, I intend to smooth out the kinks and put everything in order even if it means re-writing chunks and adding bits here and there to make the connections work. This was prompt based when first written, but no more!

"Man, what I wouldn't give for a horny slut right about now."

Kakashi spat out his drink, barely covering his mouth by the time his eyes landed on his sixteen-year-old kohai and current mission partner. "I did not just hear that come from you!"

"Oh come on, Kakashi," the brunet rolled his eyes. "Can you honestly say that at this point you wouldn't be willing to fuck anything that was willing? Even another guy? It's been eight months since we even saw a woman last! A hand is only good for so long. I need to feel someone else against me."

"You're still a kid," Kakashi reminded.

"How many kids have their names and faces printed up in Bingo books?" he retorted. "My confirmed kill list is almost as long as yours, and as far as the so-called authorities are concerned, that makes me a man."

"Still doesn't mean you should be focusing on sex at your age." Kakashi muttered, looking back out the window.

"Tell me then, oh so grown-up senpai, how old were you when you first had sex?" Tenzou demanded.

Kakashi frowned. Honestly, he was fifteen the first time, and it had been a part of his mission. After trying and failing many times to get in close to their target, his senpai learned the mark's one weakness was for boys of Kakashi's age. He had been sent in without any weapons other than his own body. Nervous, he had actually ended up penetrating the woman before strangling her. Excitement and curiosity made sure he had gotten hard for the woman, and shame and disgust filled him afterwards.

"Not really any of your business," he cleared his throat. He didn't like that memory. "My point is this... Your hand is your friend unless you want to risk getting a girl pregnant. Condoms fail more often than you might think, and girls lie about being on the pill."

"Have you ever had that problem?"

"No, now can we please talk about something else? If not, just shut up, Tenzou."

The brunet kept quiet for some time, then started whispering as if thinking out loud to himself. "I like light hair. Intense eyes. The kind of body with impossibly long legs and arms, but not a toothpick. There has to be good muscle tone, because a tight ass is best. I'd start at the feet, work my way up the calf, up to the back of the knee... I'd skip the groin at first, go for the hip and stomach next. Kiss the jaw right under the ear..."

Kakashi noted one thing in particular. His kohai failed to mention breasts. "What about under the breasts? It's a good teasing spot, and any girl with big ones likes them supported. They don't like them to be bounced or gripped hard."

"I'll remember that the next time I'm fantasizing about a woman. Thanks for that, senpai."

That caught Kakashi off guard. "You like men?"

"I think maybe not as much as I like women," he answered, leaning back in his chair. "I'd try it. Sex with a man, that is. I don't think I could go for anal, though. Have to be sixty-nine or pull each other off. You ever do it?"

"No."

"Ever think about it?"

"Maybe."

"Wanna try it out?"

Kakashi shook his head, "I might be willing to, if there was a girl involved. I like the softness of a woman."

"Deal."

"Excuse me?" Kakashi raised a brow, turning to look at his kohai in shock.

Tenzou stared at him like he was an idiot. "The first willing chick we can get, we should do her together."

"You'd do that? With me?"

"I was describing you earlier, idiot."

Well shit. "Fine. We need a girl, and since there aren't any around here, you'll have to keep being friends with your hand."


	2. Feelings and Lack of Feelings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just a little set-up so that Sakura can deal with her feelings and relationship with Sasuke, and then the first inklings of getting closer to Kakashi.

This was the second time Kakashi found himself in the space between life and death. The log fire was uncomfortably familiar despite only having visited it the once before. This time, however, there were trees near-by, he could barely make out their shapes. A creek was a little ways farther, maybe a small river by the sound of it. Then he heard the people. Knowing he had no way out of this, Kakashi put asside the war he was just fighting and resigned himself to this new existence. He probably was beyond helping, if he made it here again. So, he walked closer to the fire.

He could see the two shapes silhouetted against the large fire. They were both young. A third, an adult, joined them. This one was very thin, though, Kakashi's height, but almost thirty pounds lighter.

"Come to sit with us as we die?" one of the youths called over to him sarcastically.

"I wasn't expecting anybody this time," Kakashi answered, approaching slowly. "Last time, it was just my father."

"He told me how to find you," the boy, the one who first talked to him, said. "So I brought them along... I can't go back, and neither can she, but you guys can."

Kakashi was close enough to recognize them now. Of course these two would show up, Rin and Obito. He was surprised that Obito showed up as a boy. What really bothered him, though, was the thin man. Obito said he could still survive?

"Hello, Tenzou," Kakashi looked him over, seeing no signs of what had put his kohai here. Then again, his father looked completely intact on their last meeting, Kakashi looked intact now, as did Rin. Obito was the odd one.

"Waiting for my left half to join me," Obito shrugged when he realized Kakashi was looking at the odd shadow form making up half his body. "Tenzou-san says it grew up... became someone bad. Is it true?"

Oh hell... He really was fighting half a man before?

"You'll have a fight on your hands when he returns to you," Kakashi told him sadly. "He killed me, and I killed him. I think I killed him."

"Why?" young Obito cried out, rushing forward to grab at his vest. "Why would you kill me? We became friends! Friends don't kill each-other!"

"Stop, Obito," the girl placed a hand on his solid, right shoulder. "It's probably a long story."

"But, Rin!"

"Hush. You'll learn what happened from your other self... just try to remember he probably has a different version than what Kakashi does."

"She's right," Kakashi said. "Hate blinded him when he saw me kill Rin."

"You did what?" Obito shouted, starting to aim a fist at him, but, again, Rin stopped him.

"I forced him to," she said. "I was going to destroy our home if he didn't."

"But-"

"I will tell you later." she informed him. "When you're whole again."

The two took to each other again, Rin leading him away from Kakashi when she saw the sadness on the older man's face.

"Who are they?" Yamato asked.

"My old team," Kakashi admitted. "If we make it out of this, I'll tell you all about them."

"Is there a way out of this?" the thin man asked, hope crossing his face.

"Yes," he nodded. "If someone pulls us back. Where were you, by the way? How can we find you?"

"Has Kabuto been found yet?" Yamato asked.

"Believe it or not, Sasuke killed him and brought Orochimaru back."

"I am near him," Yamato told him. "I heard the fighting, and I struggled. I couldn't break free. They used too much of my chakra, and what I used struggling sent me here to listen to these two kids crying. Am I really dead?"

"Not yet," Kakashi reassured. "You're a long way from help, but if they save me I'll get Sasuke to lead us to you. I'll do everything possible... I'll get Shizune, Sakura, and Tsunade-sama. We'll save you... and I'm going to order you to put on some weight, you bag of bones!"

"Make good on that promise for me," Yamato smiled sadly at him, as if he had no hope even though Kakashi was already starting to glow.

Kakashi looked down at himself and realized what was happening. It was slower this time, but it felt just the same. "I swear."

He closed his eyes and tried to recognize the foreign chakra surrounding him, pulling his soul back up to his body. He could make out Sakura as the primary one, but it was obvious there were others. Naruto, Pakkun, the whole pack was there, as were other vaguely familiar forces. He really was saved again!

Sakura was slumped over on his chest when he opened his eyes again. Katsuya was healing her, but it was taking a lot of work. Kakashi brought his arms around her and sat up, cradling her to his chest as he surveyed the group around him. He spied Sasuke to his left and reached out a hand to grab the teen by his shirt.

"Take us all to Kabuto's hideout," he demanded.

"Why?" Sasuke demanded in return.

"Because you owe my friend, too," Kakashi answered, starting to stand until he realized he was still holding Sakura. "He's a prisoner now. He was one of the ANBU who guarded you when you were a child."

"Sakura-chan is in no condition-" Naruto started.

"Shut up, Naruto," Sakura said softly against Kakashi's chest. She looked up at Kakashi, though, saying, "I saw. Yamato-taichou is in the same place you were. I think I can save him, too... He's not as far gone."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

It was amazing what three years separation could do. When you leave a boy and come home nearly a man, your perspective on things change. Sasuke learned this as he approached the old gates of Konoha. Even his perspective of the people changed.

He'd told himself over and over that they were all weak. That he would kill every last one of them one day after what they allowed to happen to his family.

Now, though, he understood a lot more. Itachi was by his side, still creeping out pretty much everybody even though he was no longer a dead body, but a living one. The tears on his elder brother's face were evidence of the fact that Itachi had never thought he'd be able to return.

He turned to his right, seeing Sakura and Ino talking, both of them being held up by another friend. Sakura was on Kakashi's back, still exhausted and adamant about healing on her own instead of taking help from Karin or any of the medics. Ino limped along, supported by Shikamaru, babying a strained muscle in her back. He'd managed to look right at the moment that two others came up to take over the care of the girls.

Aburame Shino offered his hand to Ino, and Yamato helped Kakashi shift Sakura onto his back. Naruto and Kiba were gaining on them, each grasping one of Hinata's hands and swinging them back and forth. Sasuke focused on this scene. Kiba ended up putting his arm around Hinata's shoulders and hugging her before moving off to talk to someone else. Naruto, though, had his arm around her waist by this point. Hinata was blushing wildly, but still wrapped her arm around him in response.

It seemed her feelings for him really did go beyond just a crush these days.

What about Ino and Sakura? Had they left behind their childish feelings, too?

His attention turned back to them. Ino was now leaning against Shino as if she never once thought him disgusting. Sakura was smiling against Yamato's back, relaxed as possible when being held up by someone's arms under her knees. He let his eyes roam over her, inspecting her growth. Sure, he was taller than her now, but she had filled out more than him. Her chest was coming in, and her rounded rear showed her hips off nicely. The defined muscles of her legs and arms weren't overly tone or large, keeping her more feminine on the outside than her personality which had become more firy and assertive.

He had seen her kill. He had seen her save lives. He watched her banter with old friends and make new ones from old enemies. He watched her sit at a table with the five great nations' kage and hold her own in conversation despite her weariness.

"Your old team mate has become a lovely young woman," Itachi said, getting his attention back. "Too bad she's not interested in you anymore."

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked, looking back at Itachi with curiosity. "She still has a crush on me at least. I almost killed her a few months ago when she failed to kill me or Karin. I even gave her the opening she needed. If she didn't still want me, she would have killed me."

"She hasn't mentioned you in conversation once other than to comment on not trusting you," Itachi informed. "That is what Kakashi-senpai says."

Sasuke looked back at the gates before them, much closer now than when he'd first started looking over Sakura. "Then she's learned. I'm bad for her."

Itachi chuckled softly, "And now you have a crush on her."

"I do not!" Sasuke nearly shouted.

Of course, this grabbed the attention of many others near-by, including one now very alert Sakura. Sasuke glanced at her, and his blush grew. This was the first time he wanted her attention, but he certainly didn't want it this way. Cursing under his breath, Sasuke fell back to Naruto's side. He'd rather speak with the blond than deal with that questioning look from all the others, especially Sakura.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Ino was ever so happy as she walked into the bar, arm-in-arm with Kiba and Shikamaru. She was ready for a night out on the town starting right here. That was, of course, until she saw Sakura sitting in a booth by herself, a chocolate martini in hand, looking glum as could be.

Shaking the guys, she skipped up to her favorite frienemy and sat across from her. "What's got you like this, forehead?"

"I did it," Sakura mumbled, taking another sip of her drink.

"Did what?"

"I had sex with Sasuke last night."

"You what?" Ino nearly yelled. "How was it?"

"Good..."

"Oh, Sakura, you're so lucky!"

"No, I'm not."

"Why?"

"I can't look at him anymore," Sakura bemoaned. "I felt like... well... after we were done... like I just screwed things up really bad. We can't go back to what we were before, which wasn't much really... but... Imagine you had sex with someone like, I don't know, Chouji."

Ino scrunched up her nose at that, "He's like a brother to me."

"Exactly. Sasuke says we can still be friends, but it's just so wrong now. I'm still more attracted to him than a regular friend, but having sex with him isn't right at all."

The blond frowned at her friend, grabbed her arm, put down some money for the drinks, and dragged Sakura out of there. "Come on, forehead, you don't need alcohol. You need cake and ice cream."

"Say what?" Sakura asked, trying to reach for the martini again, but to no avail. Ino took her all the way back to her own small appartment, shoved her down in a chair in the living room, ordered her to wait, then came back a moment later with left-over birthday cake and rocky road ice cream. The only way Sakura knew it was birthday cake was because her giant piece said "birthday" on it in blue lettering. "Whose party did you steal this from?"

"I didn't," Ino looked down at her own chunk. "Shika, Chouji, Chouza-san, and me... We all celebrated Shika's dad's birthday at the memorial stone. We'll be doing that for my dad, too."

"Oh... I didn't know," Sakura let out a long breath, not sure what to say or do now that she held a piece of birthday cake for a dead man.

"Just eat it..." Ino said after a couple moments' silence. "You deserve a celebration for loosing your virginity."

"Excuse me?" Sakura eyed her carefully. "I'll have you know he did not take that from me!"

"Really? Who did?" Ino bounced closer.

"None of your business, that's who."

"Spoil sport!" Ino stuck her tongue out. "Fine then... maybe we should talk about who's next for you and for me. I'm getting tired of idiots like Kiba. Maybe I should try the silent type next... but not Sasuke! I couldn't dare have sex with him after you have."

"Really? Why?" Sakura asked. "I thought that having him was your dream, too. Besides, he's not bad at all in bed. Inexperienced, but not bad."

Ino's curiosity was piqued again. "Inexperienced?"

Sakura smirked at her, "I said he didn't take my virginity. Did I forget to tell you I took his?"

Ino's scream of glee pierced through the air so loud and so high pitched that someone from the floor below and above were tapping on the floor and ceiling of Ino's appartment, telling her to quiet down.

"So," she giggled, trying to do as her neighbors requested, "who's next on your list?"

"I don't know..." Sakura leaned back in the chair, taking a bite of ice cream to mull the question over. "I think I want someone older than us, not, like, old enough to be our dads or anything, but... more experienced. I want someone who will cater to my needs and wants instead of demanding I do everything for him. You said you wanted the silent type earlier, and I think you might be on to something there. The quiet ones are either the freaks or the best lovers."

"That's what they say anyway. From what Shika-kun said he and Naruto talked about, it's true."

Sakura was not one to be interested in anything sexually dealing with Naruto, but this caught her attention. "Naruto knows about sex? And I didn't hear about this?"

"Well, he and Hinata aren't just sleeping in the same room, you know," Ino winked.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Missions had to resume for everyone at some point. Sakura had spent two years setting up her own branch in the hospital system. Since it was running smoothly without her having to be there every single day, she was put back on the roster for occasional missions, usually with Hatake Kakashi. This was, unbeknownst to Sakura, her trial period, her test to see if she was ready for the slower, but ever present stream of S-rank missions as an ANBU agent.

Things had gone a bit wrong on this mission.

He didn't have all the details, and he didn't need them. What he saw was enough. The camp was a wreck, and three bodies were scattered, various small wounds and a different killing blow each. It was the steady squish, splat, splat, squish that lead him to her... and the naked form of a man she was kneeling over, the dead man's head and neck (and part of his torso) pulverized. Their young ward was cowering beside a tree,covered in blood, covering her eyes.

"Sakura-chan," Kakashi announced his presence, slowly walking up behind her.

She kept punching, using sheer strength, no chakra. He advanced enough to touch her shoulder. She still didn't stop. He gripped down on her shoulder and pulled her back. She let her arms drop, but still didn't look up.

"Miko-chan was killed by one of the others," Sakura choked out. "She killed two of them before I got back, but this one and the other one were on her. I knocked them off, and attacked this one. She and that man killed each other."

"She's not dead," he corrected softly. "Come look. She needs help, but she's not dead."

Later that night, their ward was crying. Every few minutes of sleep, she would wake again from nightmares. After the fourth time Sakura knocked her out with a medicine infused tea. She herself didn't return to bed, though. She walked off into the woods dejectedly. Kakashi waited a moment and summoned a clone to stay behind and watch camp as he followed her into the darkness.

He found her curled up at the base of a large tree by the stream, washing her hands and face. Had she slipped in the mud on the way here? She had cleaned up after the bodies were removed from camp and dumped over the cliff to the east. Then he saw how raw her hands had become, and he knew what was happening. It happened sometimes to people who had never killed before, or to those who had the blood of a loved one on them. It had happened to Kakashi when he killed Rin.

What he couldn't understand, however, is why she was acting this way. He understood Miko-chan's nightmares. It wasn't the killing that affected her, but the attempted rape. Sakura, though, was a combat war veteran. Blood shouldn't bother her like this. She had killed enemies before.

He made sure she heard his footfalls as he approached and knelt beside her. "Your hands are clean, Sakura-chan."

"They only look that way," she sniffled, easing back on her heels. "doesn't change what I did."

"You've killed before. What changed?"

She shook her head. "I've never killed a real person before... not with my own hands."

"Ah," he eased back against the tree, thinking.

For as many of the Zetsu clones she had killed off, even her fight against Sasori he really didn't have any memory or other knowledge of her killing a person. He remembered the first time he killed someone, and the disgust he felt after. He was sick all night. Kushina-san sat with him all night, stroking his hair and rubbing his back the way his father used to do. It only made him cry harder, because, at that point, his father had only been dead a few months. He had nightmares for weeks. With time, though, and more deaths, he got better at ignoring the disgust that rose up every time, and the dreams were less intense and didn't last nearly as long.

Of course, his first kill hadn't been nearly as messy as hers. This was going to be her make or break event it seemed. She could become a stronger kunoichi without the hesitation she once had. She could quit being a ninja and stay in the hospital. She could, also, break mentally. She never was completely right in the head, he knew, but never in a way that was detrimental to her vocation or dangerous to her comrades. This event, however, could change that.

"I know my eyes tell me the blood isn't there anymore... no brain matter... no bits of bone..." she said, finally looking at him again. "So why do I feel as if his flesh has worked itself into mine? Why do my hands feel like they aren't my own anymore?"

"Because the choice to kill someone is a hard, hard one to accept," he answered honestly. "A lot of the time, we make the decision through necessity, and it doesn't sink in until after the deed is done. It hurts. I think it's supposed to. If it hurts, you know you're a good person."

"But we're shinobi," she retorted. "It's our job to kill."

"It's our job to protect," he corrected. "Killing work is really for ANBU. They are the ones who get the assassination orders."

"You were ANBU."

He shook his head, damn smart girl. "I was pulled out for three reasons. Naruto, Sasuke, and my repeated refusal to take assassination missions. It wouldn't have been so hard if it weren't for the fact that the people they wanted me to kill kept getting younger."

"What was the last straw for you?"

"One of them looked a lot like Rin."

Sakura had no response except to curl up against his side and take his hand in hers. It didn't feel so bad, weaving her fingers through his longer ones, she thought. This feeling was welcome, clean, innocent.

"You're not going to go crazy on me, are you?" he asked. "I'd hate to have to explain this one to your family. Naruto will kill me for not protecting you."

"I don't think I'll go nuts this time, sensei."

"Good girl," he squeezed her hand, then stood up and lead the way back to camp. "Try to get some rest."


	3. Here and There

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life is starting to settle down.
> 
> This whole chapter was originally three different drabbles all to the prompt "Morning Routine." It's meant to illustrate how people circle one another every day without really connecting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this one, I'm directly referencing my own cats (the first three) and the cats by Atori-X in her Yamato fanart "Cats" on deviantart. It can be found at: http://atori-x.deviantart.com/art/Cats-266984710

Sakura sat on her front steps, watching the people pass by on their way to breakfast, work, to the open air market, and home from the night shift. Sometimes she could see Yamato walking with a tennis ball, followed by a bunch of cats, or Kakashi a few streets up, face buried in a brightly colored book. She had today off, but was up early out of habit. Many of her days off in the village were spent like this, morning tea in hand, newspaper sitting on the table waiting to be perused, people watching until her stomach forced her to eat something. It was peaceful, and the smiles on most of the faces gave her hope for the future.

Maybe, this afternoon, she would go and volunteer a few hours at the orphanage, or donate some time treating the minor injuries the construction workers suffered each day as they rebuilt the village. She could possibly spend her evening shopping with Ino, then hit up a bar or two with a small group of friends, depending on who was around and off duty tomorrow.

These were the best parts of her life, Sakura decided, listening to a boisterous laugh from a near-by rooftop. She recognized that laugh as being Naruto's. He would sometimes drop in on her when he knew she was home, just to share a cup of tea, maybe bring breakfast over, and check in on how things were going. Since they got home from the war, neither of them had much time together. Her duties at the hospital kept her busy, and Naruto was always taking on whatever missions, of whatever ranks available, in order to bring more money to the village and meet his requirements before the next official chunin exam.

Sakura smiled when she thought about that. She couldn't wait to see the face of whomever he was paired against in the combat portion of the chunin exam. If they were smart, they'd bow out. She certainly hoped nobody thought they could beat him flat out. Even without Kurama, Naruto, like Gaara, was still a very formidable opponent. He had his mother's chakra reserves, his father's innovative thinking, and the determination of them both combined. He could still very well end up becoming the next Hokage.

Sakura sipped her tea again, and heard the laugh a bit closer. He planned on visiting. Sakura went back inside, poured a second cup of tea, added the right amount of sugar, and carried it out to the porch, putting it on the table for him, and picking up her paper to skim the headlines. She just about choked on her next sip of tea when she read a title near the bottom right. It seemed the Kazekage was getting married.

Naruto was there to pat her on the back, "Are you okay, Sakura-chan? What happened?"

"Did you know about this?" she asked after a moment, pointing at the paper.

"Yeah," Naruto smiled at her. "He told me last month. Isn't it great?"

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Yamato usually stayed in bed a few minutes after waking up, enjoying the warmth of the covers, the sunlight filtering through the window shades, and the purring of the cat sharing his pillow. He played host so several local stray cats, all of which could be counted on like clockwork. This one, the grey and black striped one with the slight bit of copper in her face always came in sometime in the night and curled around his head or took up half the pillow, then would purr him awake. She was young. Another cat had shown her in one night, and he didn't have the heart to refuse her. Instead, he just started buying extra food for yet another mouth.

Once she knew he was awake, however, her purring intensified. She would stand up, stick her nose in his ear, and lick. If that didn't get him moving toward the food dish, she would resort to chewing, gently, on his fingers, then to pouncing on his bladder. This morning, he didn't let her get that far. Instead, he flipped over onto his stomach and pushed his nose into her belly with a playful rub and bite.

Bad idea. She was shedding. Pulling away with a mouth full of hair, he spat and cursed while finding his pajamas on the floor (where the cat had presumably kicked them) and stumbled out to the living room, put a fresh handful of dry food on a dish on the floor, and made his way to the fridge in the kitchen for some orange juice. Not finding any, he settled for the pink grapefruit juice Sakura insisted on giving him with a sigh. The first mouthful was just to rinse the rest of the cat fur out, and he spat it into the sink before taking a good, deep swallow.

A second cat, this one a tuxedo, jumped in from the sink window and reached out a paw, hooking one claw into his shirt and pulling him into a head-but to the chest. This was his way of saying, "I love you. Now feed me."

"Aye, come on," Yamato spoke to his second house guest today. He pulled out a can of wet food and inspected it. This cat would refuse pate flat out, and preferred not to eat dry food, so shredded tuna in gravy it was.

An hour later, breakfast of grilled cheese and spinach with more juice nearly finished, Yamato had his third visitor. It was a pale orange cat with darker, rusty colored swirls and stripes and white feet. This one, unlike the tuxedo, would socialize with the little grey one, and generally wasn't happy unless there was a plastic bag near-by to crawl into and subsequently shred.

Thirty-minutes on the nose after that came the fourth morning visitor. The spotted calico demanded Yamato's lap at all times, and she had to be fed by hand, too. If it wasn't in his hand, she would not eat it.

At this point, he usually took a book outside and sat under the big tree in the back yard, and all four of these cats would join him. Often, he would wave to Sakura as he walked around to the back. Sometimes, he would read to them, and other times he would forgo the book and take a tennis ball or a disc out to throw for them. They all loved to chase the objects, though the tuxedo tended not to like the disc if it was flying directly at or over him. Initially, he laughed and was surprised to find that the orange one would actually play fetch.

After about an hour of this, though, they would go on their daily walks. Other cats would come and go, making use of the dripping sink for a drink, and the ample amount of food he left on the plates while away. Some were even feral, scampering away the instant he came home, but easing up on him when his back was turned for a swift rub and then flee out the window again.

He didn't mind. He knew he was wanted, even needed, by these small, warm, and fuzzy creatures.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

There were three types of mornings for Hatake Kakashi. The first, and least usual, was when his alarm clock actually went off. Those mornings, he would jump awake, grab the offending object, and smash the mechanism over and over until he was sure it was done making that gods be damned noise. He would then fall into a kind of limbo between waking and sleeping for another couple hours before dragging himself out of bed and into the shower.

The second kind of morning Kakashi had was when he stayed up all night, reading, saw the sun's first light over the horizon, then panicked to get everything in order, whether it be paperwork for Umino Iruka, paperwork for Ibiki-san, paperwork for Tsunade-sama, paperwork for new ANBU recruits, or... well, just paperwork. Despite being a regular team-captain again, Kakashi often found himself up to his nose in paperwork. Sometimes he wondered if the village would ever run itself without him.

This morning, however, was the third kind of morning, and his favorite. He woke up and shut off the alarm fifteen-minutes before it went off. After a lengthy shower, in which he sat in the tub and processed the day before, he had a simple breakfast of salty trail-mix, and some orange juice he stole from Yamato's fridge. Then he went to the memorial stone.

Here was the one place he could reconnect with his old friends. Here, completely silent, he could stare at their names and have full conversations with each of them. He would give them his previous day's memories, share a joke, or ask advice. He could see them lean up against the stone, hear their voices, even imagine a warm embrace when he needed it most. If anybody looked, he would be standing still, but in his mind he was carrying on like old times.

Eventually, though, he had to leave and make more memories to share with them. He had to remember he was still among the living, and the living counted on him.


	4. Sharing is Caring

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And finally, we have the start of the main story!

The storms here could get bad, the locals said. That's why the buildings were all made in rounded shapes like in the desert, and of the strongest, most water tight materials and techniques that could be found or made. Even though this was considered the more dry of seasons, the storms that popped up now were considered the worst.

Ice had pelted Sakura, Kakashi, and Yamato as the three of them raced back to the hotel where they hoped Ino, Chouji, and Shikamaru were already safe. With the power lines knocked out by the strong winds, and the plumbing backed up from flash flooding, the three had few options left to bring their body temperature back up to par before hypothermia set in... as if they weren't already experiencing the first stages already.

So, here in their third floor hotel room, bunched up in one queen sized bed, the three ninja lay naked underneath both beds' blankets, curled up together, shivering, listening to one another breathe, the wind, and the thunder, their only light coming from the nearly-constant lightning through the two-inch thick window at the opposite end of the room.

Sakura had been voted by the other two to be the one in the center of this embarrassment. Now she understood why, for, as their core body temperatures rose, the men's sense of touch returned... and brought up other parts of their anatomy.

"You two keep your hands to yourselves," she warned, a small smile on her lips. "Or you'll share the bed without me."

They honored her request for the first half hour, and then they fell asleep. Hands wandered as they got comfortable. Sakura found herself being pulled back by her stomach by a long, strong arm, her back and hips pressed into Yamato's front. Kakashi scooted forward, initially seeking the warmth that had been radiating off her body through the blankets. His leg curled over hers and Yamato's, one of his hands reaching out to hold the one by her face.

She was trapped by two sleeping snuggle bunnies with hard-ons. One of them had wandering fingers, too.

She was just about asleep when she felt the movement. Yamato's hand was no longer on her stomach. It was on her right hip, long fingers massaging her sore muscle firmly, but gently. She decided she could deal with that as long as he thought she was asleep. It was obvious by the little cough he gave that he was awake again, and he knew what he was doing.

Still, if she pretended to sleep, he might stop, or move on to somewhere less intimate.

That was when her left thigh, just above her knee, felt a second hand. Kakashi was slowly, lightly caressing another of her sensitive areas, obviously pretending to be asleep. He got bolder, faster, his fingers traveling up her leg. They stopped when they met Yamato's hand on her upper thigh. Both men hesitated a moment.

She opened her eyes to stare at Kakashi with a smirk, knowing that he and Yamato would probably stop now that they remembered each other.

"It's up to you," Kakashi told her, allowing his fingers to slip between Yamato's and rest on her hip.

Her eyes widened a little. "You two planned this?"

"Not exactly," Yamato said, his breath on her neck. "We've talked about it before... when we were your age. If there was a willing woman between us, we'd go for it. We were lonely boys who had to get creative with our downtime."

"Have you ever..." she thought for a second. "Have you ever gone ahead without the girl?"

Kakashi looked slightly uncomfortable, "Somewhat."

"Somewhat? How does that work?"

She felt lips on the back of her neck, "You're asking too many questions. Do you want to try this or not?"

The butterflies welled up in her stomach, nervousness and excitement mingling together. This could be one more dirty little secret to share with Ino when she got home. After all, the last time the girls had talked about who they'd like to have sex with next, Sakura did admit to wanting someone older. Well, here were two older men, ready and willing. "It'll help us warm up. Okay."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Things became a bit strange after they came home. Kakashi was buying her lunches. Yamato was growing her fruits and vegetables for breakfast. Kakashi bought her the shoes she'd been staring at one day. Yamato grew her a set of shelves for her all her shoes. Kakashi hugged her when they parted ways after training.

When she gave Yamato a new architecture book for his birthday, he kissed her.

Kakashi wouldn't leave her side for the rest of the day. The embrace he gave her that evening was tighter, longer, warmer. She caught herself planting a small kiss on his covered cheek when they parted. He seemed to stiffen a little, then smile before disappearing.

Two days later, she found herself pressed up against her own door, lip-locked with Yamato. It took all of her effort not to invite him inside.

It seemed that for every step Kakashi made, Yamato did his best to one-up him. A one night stand with the excuse of warming up just didn't seem like enough for either man.

She sat them both down at lunch a day later, demanding answers.

"You two aren't doing all that good of a job hiding your competition from me," she pointed out. "What are you trying to do, exactly? Ruin your friendship, or play a cruel joke on me?"

"No jokes," Yamato answered first. "We've never been the best of friends either."

"We both thought you would just pick one of us by now and that would be that," Kakashi added. "The winner could continue the romance and the other would step back. That was the deal."

"And not try to sabotage the 'winner' at all?" Sakura asked, knowing how these two men thought.

"That wouldn't be fair to you," Yamato replied.

The rules were set that day. No sabotaging each others interactions. If she never chose one over the other, all would be well. If either man felt they couldn't share any longer, they'd say so and everything was off. It would be up to her what to do with them then.

After a few months, she had to call the whole thing off. Too many of her encounters with her boyfriends were getting heated beyond her comfort zone. She'd never had the ability to hold hands in public before. She'd certainly never allowed a man to put his arm around her waist as they stood in line for ice cream. Those kinds of things were welcomed, though.

It was the time alone she had trouble with.

Kakashi knew how to give amazing foot rubs. The third time she'd allowed him to put his hands on her feet, he'd climbed higher to her knees. The next time he pushed his luck and went half way up her thighs... and all the way to her hips the next time.

He knew how to make her comfortable, and knew exactly how far he could push her. The light caresses to her inner thigh was where she wanted to draw the line, but it felt too good. It was almost as if he knew he was slowly turning her on. She could feel the light flush on her cheeks creep down her chest, hear breath quicken. Her heart beat a little faster every time he grazed a finger near her panty line.

It seemed he could also sense her hesitation about the situation... that or he called it a night and left her hanging just to be a bastard.

That experience was still fresh in her mind two days later when Yamato started massaging her hand. She let him work his way up to her shoulder, and not once did he dare graze her breast. She wasn't sure why, but it was a bit disappointing. The light kiss he gave her shoulder after finishing the other arm was sweet and quick. He made no direct advances the whole time they spent together, choosing instead to complement her hair, her eyes, laugh, clothes. He said she was beautiful.

She didn't understand why he had such a hard time getting a girl. He knew so much more about what she liked to hear. Sure, she was aroused by Kakashi's physical advances, but this man spoke to her need of mental closeness. He chose conversation over action, complementing her latter on the fact that, other than Kakashi, he hadn't had as intelligent of a conversation partner in years.

Yamato's skill was in landing a long term relationship, keeping her engaged for hours while only talking. Kakashi's skill was in the emotional range, passion and comfort despite his usual arm's lenght attitude in public. The thing was, she wanted more of them together. She enjoyed the way the two played off of one another in conversation. She was comforted by the little moments they shared that, despite what they had said before, showe how much they really cared about one another.

So, it had to stop. She wouldn't date them separately anymore. Sure, she'd have moments with one without the other, but, in general, she wanted them both all the time from here on out.

Of course, that didn't mean she wouldn't have to protect them from one another. The moment Tsunade made it official that Kakashi would be her successor, Kakashi was on the run.

Hatake Kakashi was completely winded. He had just been chased by every single ANBU operative, all of the Jonin, most of the Tokubetsu Jonin, half the Chunin, and several Genin, all through the village, training grounds, and over the mountain and was not caught by any of them. He had ran them in circles enough that they were now running themselves in circles. Only the smartest ones would be searching somewhere out of his established pattern this soon.

"Want a little extra chakra?"

He looked down from his perch in the window of a barn, into the bails of hay. "Why would you do that?"

"They're after your face again, right?" Sakura sat up, putting her book away in a vest pocket. "For the mountain?"

"Yes," he nodded, hopping inside with her. "You're not on their side, are you?"

"No," she smiled a little, walking up to him and placing her hands on his chest, flowing a little extra of her chakra into his body. "Not if you give me another kiss... like you did last month."

"I don't think your boyfriend would approve," he answered, despite the fact that he was wrapping his arms around her, allowing her to pull down his mask.

"I thought you both were my boyfriend, and you agreed it was okay," she countered.

"Yamato really has it in for me today," Kakashi frowned. "He's leading the ANBU in the hunt to find me right now."

"Yamato can't get passed the genjutsu I have around this area," she smirked. "He'll recognize it, but he can't break it... not unless he says please."

"Then I guess I can kiss you."


	5. Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I wrote this, I was under the impression that Jiraiya had found Tenzou. Whoopsie...
> 
> Anyway, YamaSaku lemon in this one. It takes up the greater part of the chapter. Please note that the next chapter will be KakaSaku lemon.

The design of the house was completely organic. It started off as just a shack in a stand of trees. This ten acre plot of land sat atop one of Orochimaru's old labs, the camping lodge above a pleasant front for the horrors below. This was the place where Jiraiya and the Sandaime found Yamato as a child, and he swore to one day return here and face his demons.

He cleared out the cavern below of all traces of Orochimaru's experimentation and offered any unused, untarnished by the old man's unsavory practices, tools to Sakura, some of which she gratefully took, and others she deemed unfit for different reasons. He then went about turning the cavern into a proper foundation basement. Once that was done, he worked on the shack above a little each day. Since most of his day was spent helping rebuild Konoha, he asked the rest of the team if they would be willing to help build the place up into a proper home. He wanted to make it beautiful for Sakura and functional for Kakashi. He wanted to make something he could be proud to call his own.

Naruto's time was very sought after these days by many people. He was gone on diplomatic relations more than he was home. Yamato smiled at that.

Sai was busy helping de-program other former ROOT members these days. It left him mentally exhausted each day, so when he did come by he usually just sat down somewhere and started painting something for the sake of relaxation.

Kakashi and Sakura, however, had been rendered just as homeless as he had. All shinobi and their families were given priority in the housing rebuild, but, like many, Sakura and Kakashi gave over their housing to civilians who needed it more. Shinobi could live in the wild for years, but civilians were used to the comforts of home.

Of course, Sakura didn't do this right away. She sat on her small quarters until her parents returned. When Yamato and Kakashi started courting her, they would often stay with her there over night. When her parents returned to find themselves homeless, however, she offered them her place and a new dilemma was born. That was when they gave up on trying to get her to pick between them. All three of them now shared the little shack and slept on the full sized bed.

One day he didn't go back to the center of town and continue rebuilding. Instead, Yamato decided to rest the whole day, but when Kakashi and Sakura came back, it was to find the shack had grown significantly.

Gone was the one-room cabin, and in its place was a three story mansion that weaved through the trees and their branches with room for the individual trees themselves to grow another hundred years. They each had their own bedroom and attached study and walk-in closets. To that were added three more bedrooms, each with large closets. There were two main sitting rooms, a full kitchen, separate dining room, little breakfast nook, a library, three full and two half-baths, and a deck all the way around. The furniture was already made, cabinets, drawers, plates, bowls, utensils, space was left for bricks in the fire places. Everything was there except for the things like bedding, sofas, cushions for the chairs, cookware, appliances, mirrors, and personal items. Everything that could be crafted from wood was already in place.

This was the home Yamato had dreamed of all his life, and he built it for them.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Sakura was in the kitchen pillaging the freezer for ice cream when Yamato came home one evening. He'd had a day at the desk playing secretary at the high security prison. They only had three prisoners right now, and nobody came to visit. It was a boring day filled by drawing out plans for a second floor addition to the house he'd made for Sakura.

Stepping into the kitchen, he set his eyes on a nice view of her ass as she bent over the drawer, sorting through her options. She shifted foot to foot in time with the song on the radio, unknowingly giving him a show as she pulled out a little plastic cup filled with chocolate swirl and pealed away the foil cap to lick at it. Not one drop of the sugary treat would be wasted. Not with that talented muscle of hers on the job.

Oh how he wanted to kiss her. He just wasn't sure which set of lips to start with.

She seemed to know he was home right at that instant. He found himself looking into her bright eyes and listening to her day's events. It all was a blur he couldn't keep up with. Her short black shorts and the way she licked the spoon clean with every mouthful of ice cream made sure he stayed distracted. The fact that she was wearing one of his white undershirts with no bra or bindings had his eyes wandering over her little nipples pointing through the material, still hard from the cool air of the freezer drawer even as they sat on the love seat in the living room.

"You're not listening, are you?"

"Huh?" his eyes snapped up to hers again.

"What's got you so distracted?" Sakura asked, sliding her feet into his lap and leaning her back into the arm rest.

He didn't answer with words, just ran a finger up her calf, around her knee, and up her thigh to the hem of her shorts. He didn't stop there, just trailed on higher around one nipple, then the next one, and up her throat and around her chin to her lips, wiping away a little dribble of ice cream her tongue had missed.

"Oh," she smiled, giving his fingers a quick kiss as his other hand began massaging her left foot. She hummed in delight. It had been a long time since he'd had the urge to worship her legs and turn her into putty for an hour or two. She scooted towards him so that her calves rested in his lap instead of her feet, settling in for the long haul of good things.

And it seemed even to him that he might just do that for a while. He loved the little hums she gave when he worked out a sore spot, and the purrs of satisfaction she'd give when he moved onto a new one.

It was just that her pale little nipples were still pointing at him, and those moans sounded almost too satisfied. If a leg rub was all it took today to make those sounds, what kind would she be making if he could get her out of those clothes?

He carefully slid out from under her legs and placed them on the cushion, much to her disapproval. "What are you doing?"

Again, he didn't answer, choosing instead to push up the tank-top she'd stolen and kiss her stomach, just below her naval. She hummed, running fingers through his hair. He pushed her shorts down a tad, finding soft dark curls there instead of panties. He buried his nose there and kissed again. Her breath hitched and her stomach fluttered under his attention. He didn't realize his breath was a turn on for her, or that she had been turned on since before he'd come home. He knew now. Her reaction to the kisses, and the scent between her legs more apparent now told him a lot.

"I thought you might be too tired," she admitted, running her finger along his jaw by his ear.

"Just office work today," he answered, continuing to place light kisses on her lower stomach, stroking her thighs with one hand and bringing his other hand to palm a breast through her shirt. "Had you on my mind all day. I wanted to touch you, taste you, hear you call my name, have your nail marks down my back, and your cum soaking my balls."

Her breath and heartbeat picked up pace with each statement, between which he placed a kiss, and his voice grew steadily lower. He had her shorts off now, pushed all the way onto the end table. His lips were now on her right hip, his hand parting her legs and teasing her outer lips. He was surprised to find she was already wet and arching up into his slow, gentle caresses.

On impulse alone, he took his hand away and threw off his shirt, his own heart trying to beat out of his chest in eagerness, his pants getting to be too tight to leave on much longer. Sakura took the reprieve to throw off her shirt as well, and push him backwards onto the floor. She made short work of yanking his pants and underwear off and straddling his hips, keeping the length of his dick against the length of her slit. He wasn't hard enough yet, but she'd damn sure get him there soon.

His hands fell onto her thighs and his hips bucked a little under her weight, feeling the slick slide of their sexes and humming in approval of her new position.

"No more foreplay," Sakura ordered the moment she felt he could enter her and eased up just enough to guide his tip to her entrance. "Just fuck me hard!"

He sat up, rolled her over onto her back and jerked her legs into the air, not yet ready. He knelt, her thighs around his ears, all her weight on her shoulders and neck as he plunged his tongue into her core. He sucked as he withdrew the flexible muscle and moved forward to pressure her clit with his lips, humming happily at both her taste and the moans his actions had brought from her mouth. He repeated this set of tortures twice more before she gained enough control to jerk him back down to the floor, twist around and take the head of his dick into her mouth, ending any struggles he might have had before they could begin, her nails running the underside of his length with firm determination.

"Now," she breathed against his wet tip, "Stop this torment. I don't have the patients for this today."

With a quick roll, he put her back on the carpeted floor, then turned around to kiss her hard on the mouth. The moisture on his dick wasn't all from her mouth's attentions. He was nearly as impatient as her, almost missing as he aligned their sexes and thrust deep and hard inside. She called out in shock, but wrapped her legs around his waist anyway, trying to keep up with his quick and needy pace.

He pushed her to cum six times before he let himself empty into her slick tightness. She cradled him against her chest, both of their bodies shaking, breath ragged, hearts racing, and fell to sleep right there on the floor.


	6. Nursery?

Sakura was not often one to be mistaken for being prim or proper. If she dropped something, she didn't always bend her knees to pick it up, just went ahead and did a toe-touch while she grabbed the item. If something she wanted happened to be on the opposite side of a table, she'd reach right across, or even climb up on the table to reach her target. If something was too high on a shelf, she would climb the shelf instead of asking for help. She was short and worked her own way around that problem.

So, when Kakashi came home one afternoon to see she was half-laying on her desk in order to rummage through a drawer on the other side, he wasn't surprised. This was Sakura being Sakura, and that turned him on. Her thin, cotton pants hugged her ass so beautifully, one leg bunched up at the calf, the other under her heel slightly. Her body wiggled a little with the range of her search extending into a lower drawer, raising her ass a little higher as she brought her knees up under her stomach.

Kakashi was a leg and ass man for sure. Oh he liked her breasts, her stomach, and her throat. Those were all soft and warm. Nothing, however, could top the feeling of a solid, round ass in his hands, or pressed against his stomach.

She was cursing under her breath now, frustrated. He knew this show atop her desk was going to end soon. She was going to slide down and look somewhere else. Kakashi acted quickly, taking two fast steps and placing his hands on her hips, pulling her ass into his hips and stopping her in her tracks. His own pants were an old pair, and thus a bit thin, like hers. She could feel him press the general area of his dick and balls to her own sensitive places and it caused her not only to gasp slightly, but to follow that gasp with a slightly longer moan.

"Hey, Kakashi," she hummed, eyes closed as she leaned back into him.

"You can tell just like that?" he asked, curious.

"Yes," she smiled. "Your balls are bigger. His dick is fatter. You're damn near the same when you're both hard, but his balls are just a bit smaller."

"I see," he spoke softly, lips grazing her neck, hands moving to massage her breasts. "And which of us do you like inside of you more? Who holds you better? Tastes better? Whispers your name just the right way?"

"Those aren't fair questions, Kakashi," she smiled, running her hands up his arms to his hair. "We both know you don't whisper when you're balls deep in my pussy."

Oh gods, he forgot about that dirty little mouth of hers. She didn't let it out often enough for his liking, but the words she had just spoken caused his dick to twitch, hardening a little faster. She felt it, too, broadening the smile on her lips.

"That's what you want, isn't it? You want me right here. You want to just pull my pants down to my knees, unzip yours, and just hammer into my pussy over and over."

"Maybe I do."

"Maybe I want you to go sit in my chair and let me suck you off instead. Maybe I want to ride you slowly. Maybe I just go find my book and leave you to your hand. So many maybes..."

"How about this," he offered, pulling her hands away from his head and placing them back on the desk before her. He pulled her pants down, but left her stringy excuse of underwear in place, then shucked his own pants off completely. "How about you stay right there on your knees, spread them apart good and wide, and I'll lick you clean before I fuck you? Then, if you're a good girl, I'll pick you up, put you on your bed, and slowly make love to you. Would you like that?"

Sakura wasn't going to have the first part, it seemed. She acted fast, wrapping her legs around him and reaching between her thighs to guide him into her body, string thong shoved to the side.

Kakashi said a mental thanks to the desk for being the perfect height for this moment. His breath caught as his hands dug into her hips. He needed to steady himself or fall down. She was tight and not very wet yet. The extra friction sent a shock-wave of sensations through them both, and Sakura nearly lost her grip on him with her legs.

"What I would like, Hatake Kakashi," Sakura informed once she regained enough composure, "is for you to take me right here, right now. We'll figure out the rest later."

His response was to run a finger to her clit and begin rubbing in gentle, small circles. With his other hand, he grasped a nipple and massaged her breast a bit roughly. It would sting her, but he knew she wanted that. Slowly, carefully, he drew out of her, then, with just as much patients, he pressed back in again. Already she was much wetter, feeling silky smooth. He pulled back again, only to have her feet kick him in the ass, shoving him back inside quickly.

"Damn it, Sakura!" he cursed, bent over her now, his stomach caressing her back with every deep breath.

"Don't do this slow," she commanded. "I want fast. I want hard."

"Fine," he growled, pushing himself back up again, pulling out completely. "Get your knees under you."

Sakura grit her teeth and did as she was told. Kakashi smacked her thighs apart until she was wide enough to take his dick again, then shoved in hard, hands pulling back on her hips as he thrust forward. He pushed her away again as he drew out, then puled as he slammed in again. Having gotten the feel for it, he gave her no warning and sped up, pumping into her as fast as he could handle without loosing his footing. Her arms gave way, forehead to the desk, unable to take control again. He liked this, being in complete control.

Little whimpers escaped her lips as she gasped for air, unable to concentrate on anything as wave after wave of raw carnal pleasure overtook her body. She tried to speak his name, tried to warn him she was going to cum, but he told her to shut up.

"Not yet," he grumbled. "You cum now, and I'll fuck you this hard all the way through another one. I'm not ready yet."

She didn't have a choice. Her muscles quivered all around him, and she sprayed his balls with her juices. He didn't know it was the sound of his voice that had driven her the rest of the way. Frustrated now, Kakashi slowed down his thrusts, pulled her back up against his chest, and rubbed her clit directly. The shift in position and the direct stimulation on her clit both heightened her orgasm and caused some pain. It kept her from falling completely from her orgasmic state, and frustrated her with the slowness of his new pace.

"Kakashi!" she begged. "Oh, please go faster!"

"No," he replied, keeping his tone as even as possible. "No, I told you to hold off. I told you I wasn't ready."

He bit down where her shoulder met her neck and continued this new torture, keeping her at the brink of a second orgasm until he felt his balls tighten and the first spurts of his own orgasm begin to pour his seed into her body. He was coming more gently than ever before, and, though he could have savored it, he didn't want that. This was reality, not some damn wet dream or slow jack off to an Icha Icha novel. He slammed into her body, fast and hard again, bringing them both to completion, and collapsed on top of her, pinning her to the slick desk with his fully relaxed weight.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--==-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Years ago, the invitation had been put out there. Sasuke knew of these weekly get-togethers at Sakura's place, and he had barely dodged being dragged there multiple times. He preferred spending his Saturday's home with Itachi, reconnecting through learning the truth about their past, going fishing, hiking, sparring, even pulling out his flute to show off a new tune, then listen to Itachi play on his shimasen a while. They were as they should have been years ago, but, Sasuke lamented, it was really, really quiet here at the old home, with nobody around but them.

He hadn't expected to have even this much company when he returned home. He certainly didn't expect to actually get along with his brother enough to live together, let alone actively build a friendly, even loving relationship like this again. It felt good, gave him hope that the bad blood between them was finally over with. There were days, yes, when they couldn't stand to be in one another's presence, but that only happened when they were stuck home for weeks on end with nothing else to do but pester one another out of boredom.

This Saturday morning, however, as Sasuke made strong black tea in one pot, and stronger coffee in another, fully expecting Itachi to be rummaging through cupboards for what they would have for breakfast, he did not expect the words that came out of his brother's mouth.

"I think we should go to the Haruno residence today instead."

"Excuse me?" Sasuke turned around, eyes wide. Did he really just hear that?

"I'm going anyway. It's been a long time since Team Ro was together, and Hatake-senpai mentioned it would be interesting for all of us to see how each other have improved even since the war. Since sparring is something that regularly takes place at their gatherings, we decided to set up a match between us and Team Ko."

"You were on the same team as Hatake Kakashi?" Sasuke raised a brow.

"For a few years, yes," Itachi shrugged. "I also worked with the man you know as Yamato closely. We were often in three and two man teams together as 'Team Ro' while I was in ANBU. Hatake-senpai was the captain."

Sasuke shook his head once, then poured his coffee. For such a large village, he had to be a part of the most interconnected family and team possible, didn't he? Anyone on the outside of his team would be far too confused now ; even he was baffled by the layers of the relationships sometimes.

"Will you be coming?"

"Hm?" Sasuke looked back over his shoulder. He forgot what the original conversation was about now, his stomach complained of hunger, and his head ached with the lack of caffeine in his system, making those the two priorities right at the moment.

"To the Haruno residence. They will have food there already, and I believe your friends would appreciate your visit. I would appreciate your support of Ro during the spar later. I hear there is a betting pool already."

"Who are you against again?"

"Former Team Ko... sort of."

That was an expression Sasuke hadn't heard in a long time from Itachi. "Meaning?"

"Aburame Shibi, Akimichi Chouza, and Naruto-kun in place of his father. Aburame-senpai will be leading the team."

"Naruto isn't ANBU. Technically, he's still a genin."

"Does it matter?"

Sasuke smiled a bit. "No."

"You'll come then?"

"Yes."

Later on, while the match took place, Sasuke found himself distracted by the most unlikely of people. He really had a hard time concentrating on anything he was supposed to be watching, and it took him a while to understand why.

She was rather plain in coloring, dark brown eyes and darker brown, straight hair. She was tall, though, almost as tall as Sasuke, and the way she refused to cover her laugh spoke of a brashness he felt compelled to explore. She may have had a delicate, lanky frame, pretty little braids in her ponytail, light makeup, and a tiny nose piercing to indicate her femininity, but her actions were anything except girly.

While his brother fought in the planned session between former ANBU teams, Sasuke paid more attention to Yoriko than to the battle. Yoriko glanced his way once or twice, but spent more time shouting encouragement to her uncle, Aburame Shibi. On the third time she glanced at him, she made a face, a pointed look to tell him to keep his eyes where they belonged, off of her. It didn't work.

He tried. He honestly tried to keep his eyes on the fight, but they kept straying back to her lithe form. She had great muscle structure... especially on her ass, he thought. She didn't leave much up to the imagination in those pale blue, cotton shorts that clung to her toned thighs in the heat. Her arms weren't as built as her legs, but they were more sinewy. She was definitely built for speed, perhaps she was an advance scout?

"What's your interest with her?" the unwelcome voice of Inuzaka Kiba broke in. "I thought only accomplished kunoichi were your type."

"She is not?" he asked.

"She's a mail carrier," Kiba set him straight. "She runs marathons for charity, too, but her main job is long distance mail delivery between Daimyo and Kage that don't need involve sensitive information that ANBU and Jonin usually run instead."

"That is still a risky job," Sasuke commented. Even regular mail carriers were sometimes subject to robberies, the robbers taking the chance that the mail carrier might have money or other valuable objects on their person. Regular mail carriers also generally went alone. All they had to alert people of their misfortunes would be not showing up on time, thus they tended to be a punctual, and very predictable lot. Scouts would be sent out from their receiving location along their standard rout if they were even one half hour late.

Even regular mail sometimes contained super sensitive information. Some of the most important documents were transported through regular mail simply because most people wouldn't expect such a method. Though their real strength was in an even pace, the distance carriers could sprint so fast that even Gai and Lee had trouble keeping up with some of them.

Running wasn't their only defense, either. Most of them were good with hand-to-hand combat, some even wielded weapons such as the kusinagari or a bow. Distance was their style. This woman's height meant a lot of people would have a hard time getting close enough to land a hit on her. It probably accounted for her flawless skin... except around her hands and wrists. Further visual inspection, however, showed a lot of small hairs woven into her shirt. Pet hair. Most likely, it was cat hair, and that brought another reason to like her, Sasuke thought. Cats were the superior species of domestic pet. They weren't as helpful as dogs in a fight, but they were the best at anything else, as far as he was concerned.

"What is her name?" Sasuke asked after a while.

"Aburame Yoriko, is my name," she rolled her eyes, having heard their conversation earlier. "Next time you have a question about me, ask me, not dog breath."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Sakura knew the kind of day Kakashi had the moment he sat down in the living room.

If he sat in the chair by the bookshelf, he would sit straight up, clothes still pressed into neat lines as if they'd only just been donned, and he'd hide behind a book. Those days the most she could get him to say was whether or not he would be taking a shower before bed. Forget dinner. Those were his antisocial days, and she hated them the most.

If he sat near the window, he would stare out of it, one leg curled underneath him, watching the birds in the trees or the insects pollinating the flowers. She could curl up beside him on the love seat, and he'd hold her there gently. He'd mostly be quiet, but sometimes, when he sat there, he'd talk about the colors outside, or who was passing by on the street. It was always light hearted, but short. He'd light candles to set at the dinner table, and she would find flowers on her desk the next day. The whole night, he'd hold her and whisper sweet nothings in her ear for as long as he knew she was still awake. She looked forward to these days when the weather turned to rain.

If he stretched out on the couch, his shoes would be off, his mask would be down, his gloves would be in the laundry room, his flak vest would be on the floor in the kitchen, and his forehead protector would be on the end table. He'd be massaging his left eye, working out a headache she'd come over and help him with after handing him a glass of water and a couple aspirin. After a short nap and a snack, he'd be full of energy, ready to go back outside and play for a while before helping her to prepare dinner. He would occasionally still have the energy to play in bed that night, too. She loved these days the most.

One day, though, she came home expecting to find him on the couch despite the rain outside. His shoes were neatly placed in the mud-room, but his house shoes were left on their shelf. His gloves were nowhere to be seen, though his vest and forehead protector were hung on a chair in the kitchen. His cotton, long sleeved shirt was draped on the arm of the chair by the window. His mesh undershirt was peeking out of the doorway to the bathroom; obviously he'd missed the hamper again. She knew he purposefully missed his mark just to raise her ire.

His pants in the doorway of her bedroom were simply to lead her in that direction. And his gloves were in the entrance to her adjoined study.

"What is the meaning of this, Kakashi?" she asked, wondering if he even kept his underwear on. "Want to fuck me on the desk again or something?"

"No," he answered, sitting in her simple desk chair. "Well, actually, now that you mention it..."

"What are you doing in here?" she asked, leaning up on aforementioned desk. "Why are you sitting in my chair in nothing but your underwear?"

"Wanted to get a new perspective... What I have to ask you may involve my being in this room in just my underwear more often."

"What?" she raised a brow. "What could require that?"

"Come sit with me," he patted his lap. Brows furrowed now, Sakura humored him, and he wrapped his arms around her middle, placing his chin on her shoulder. "I don't want this room to be your little office anymore."

"What do you want it to be?"

She could feel him smile, his lips against her ear. "I want it to become a nursery."

"For plants?" she asked, just in case he wasn't thinking what she thought he was thinking. "You can barely keep Mr. Ukki alive!"

"Sakura, please take me seriously on this," he pleaded. "I want to put a crib under the bay window, and we can keep the rocking chair right where it is by the small window. The changing station can go over on the solid wall. A dresser can go by the door, and a toy chest beside it. What do you think?"

"I think you're forgetting Yamato," she reminded. "You and I are not married or exclusive. I'm still going on occasional missions, too. The world we live in may be safer in general, but that doesn't mean it's without the risk of death. You're a public figure, so you'll always be targeted."

"You think I won't protect it if it isn't mine? Or that I can't protect myself now that my days are mostly spent behind a desk?"

"I didn't mean-"

He put a finger to her lips, "I just wanted you to sit with me and imagine this room as a nursery. You don't have to give me an answer yet. Just think about it. If you want to do it, we can sit down with Yamato when he's home and talk it out with him."


	7. Foster Parents

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The little boy is based off of my former neighbor's son, whom I miss greatly.

He kept a picture of her in his pocket every time he left on a mission. He'd collected a whole album of her and the rest of his previous teams, but she was his anchor these days. Although there was no more open fighting, no more mass deployments and no more obvious attempts between the nations to bring one another down, there was still a need for shinobi. Common criminals still attacked caravans. Murders still occurred and needed investigating; murderers tracked and captured. Public figures still needed guarding, and spying on.

Today he sat huddled under a tent made from a eight foot by six foot tarp and some wooden braces he'd grown with as little effort as possible. The person he was sent to rescue was a lot younger than he'd first imagined. Four-year-olds could be exhausting, he learned, and the child was sick, meaning he probably shouldn't be traveling in the cold rain pouring down at the moment.

While the child napped, he pulled out a picture of her, tracing her smile with his finger as his eyes re-aquatinted themselves with the cotton candy color of her hair and emerald green of her eyes. This was a picture Sai had painted, and Yamato had made sure to laminate for days like this, days when he was so lonely feeling like the world had left him behind again, when the painful memories of days past closed in again. Looking at her image helped. It reminded him that there was someone who loved him that he would see again soon.

He wasn't as broken as he once thought.

"Is she your girlfriend?" the boy asked unexpectedly.

"You could say that," Yamato answered.

"She's pretty... like my mommy," the child said, crawling into his lap to look at the painting with him. "Whoever drew her is really good."

"He is," he agreed, holding the shaking boy closer. "You cold?"

"Yes sir," the red-head answered with a nod.

"When the rain lets up, we'll break camp and go back to my home. You can meet my girlfriend. She'll make sure you're okay then."

"Then can I see my mommy?"

Yamato sighed. "I don't know. It all depends on if my friends have found her yet or not."

The child frowned, tears held back not-so-expertly. "What happens if they don't find her?"

"I said yet. They will find her. I promise, you'll be home with her before you know it."

"Will daddy be there?" he asked with a touch of fear.

"No," Yamato shook his head. "Remember all the blood? I'm sorry you had to see that, but it means that he can't hurt you anymore. You're safe."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"Who are you?"

The red-haired boy sitting on Sakura's counter top looked up quickly, face dripping wet, holding a big chunk of watermelon that was dripping onto the floor... her freshly mopped tile floor.

"Relax, Sakura-koi," Yamato appeared from the mud room, running his fingers through his hair and biting into his own piece of fruit. "I brought him here. I was hoping you'd be able to watch him while I turn in my report to Kakashi."

"She's even prettier in person," the little boy told Yamato with a toothy grin.

"Great," Sakura rolled her eyes with a huff. "Yesterday Kakashi asks me to think about having a baby with him. Today, you bring a toddler home. What about me? Maybe I'm not ready for any kids yet!"

"Ogawa-kun," Yamato helped the sticky child down, "would you go play in the yard for a while? I need to speak with Sakura-san alone."

"I saw some dogs in the yard. Can I play with them?" the boy asked hopefully.

"Certainly," Yamato nodded, then waited for the child to sprint outside and rile up Kakashi's pack before turning to face Sakura again. "His name is Yamamoto Ogawa. He is four-years-old, and the son of nobles in River Country. His father turned on the village leaders. I had to kill him in front of the boy. His mother is missing. I believe she is dead as well. My orders were to secure the boy and his mother until the threat by his father's family was dealt with. Either he stays with us, or someone we can trust."

"She is dead," Sakura sighed, looking out the window to where the child played. "Ino's team secured her on the boarder, but she died before they got her to the hospital. Head was cracked open."

Yamato dropped his head, leaning into the counter where the boy had sat. "Damn it. I promised him. I promised him he would be able to go home again, to his mother, safe."

She knew what was happening. He was equating this child's plight with his own at that age. The boy was alone under the care of a killer, a man many considered a monster, and some considered a being of the spirit world. People might just say that the boy was now cursed to follow the same path. These were the things people said about him, feared him for, even hated him over.

"Don't do this to yourself, Yama-koi," Sakura walked up to him, putting her arms around him from behind. "This boy has a much better world to grow up in than you did. He can make whatever life he wants for himself."

"He's nothing like Kakashi and I," Yamato breathed out. "He's an average boy. He has no knowledge of how to use chakra, no kekke genkai to tame, and no extra intelligence to be found. But... when things settle down in River Country, they'll want to take him back. They'll groom him to their own wants and he'll be nothing more than a puppet."

"So we hide him," a new voice joined the conversation. Kakashi was home. "He should be able to make his own decisions in life... Why is there watermelon all over the porch?"

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Having your mentor as the head of the shinobi of your whole country was one thing. Having your ex-teacher/ex-captain/ex-division leader/current lover take over that position was even tougher. Every time the position of Hokage changed hands, several other positions were at stake. One of them was being head of ANBU, the position to which their new Hokage placed Sakura's other lover.

Soon after that, she got the news that her own position would be changing. She was now head of the field medic program. She would continue working closely with the hospital in order to learn and teach newfound techniques, but her primary concern was to train one third of all academy graduates basic field medicine, and anyone who wished to go beyond that as much as she could in a structured class setting.

It also meant the three of them had to restructure their relationship.

Only three weeks ago, Kakashi had asked her to have his child, and Yamato brought one home the next day. Now it was hard for two of them to be home at the same time, and one of them always had to be around to take care of Ogawa-kun. Often, she or Kakashi would take the boy to work with them. Only on occasion was he allowed to go with Yamato, and that was on days for addressing new recruits.

It looked like having her own child would have to wait a while. She was fine with that. With the strain this distance was putting on their relationships, Sakura doubted the three of them would ever be able to go back to how things were. It wouldn't be as stable of an environment she wanted for a child of her own. At least Ogawa was old enough to understand a little of the situation he was brought into, and he was adjusting well.

"I want to go to school," Ogawa said one day.

"Which one?" Sakura asked, happy the boy was suggesting it.

"What do you mean?"

"There are two schools that take children your age here," Sakura explained. "You can go to the school that teaches you everything you'll need to make a life for yourself in any profession you want, but going to that school means you have to go to a second school to narrow down your field of work later on."

"What is the other school?"

"It's the school I went to when I was your age. They teach you all the basics like math, reading, and things like that. They also teach you the basics of being a ninja. After that, though, you have to learn in smaller groups from a person who's been a ninja for a long time. If they don't think you're good enough, they send you back to the school over and over until you pass or your quit."

"Did they ever send you back?"

"No. The two boys and myself that Kakashi-san took on passed on our first try. He made us think we failed, at first, but that was what helped us pass."

"Kakashi-san was your teacher?"

"Yes, for a while."

"And you're a teacher now."

"Yes."

"What do you teach them?"

"How to heal people. If someone gets a really big cut, or a broken bone, I can heal it quickly so that they don't suffer or die. I teach other people to do the same thing for their friends."

Ogawa looked down for a moment, thinking. "I want to learn how to help people, too. I want to heal their hearts. My daddy broke my mommy's heart, she said. It must have really hurt, because the next day, I saw him hit her there, and she fell down."

Well, that explained the way Ino's team found his mother. The way it sounded, Ogawa's father either made a lucky shot or had training. The plan was to return Ogawa one day. If he had to face his father again, the boy would need training of the kind Sakura had to give him.

"I think you should go to my old school," Sakura suggested. "When you graduate, I can help your Jonin-sensei show you how to do what I do. Sound fair?"


	8. Family Matters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Refferance to non-consensual sex. Sasuke is the bad guy again.

He didn't mean to speak out loud and wake her, but for the first time in years, curiosity had gotten the better of him. "Sakura, whose clothes are these?"

The accusation in his voice was just as strong as the curiosity. Worse still was the fact that she was still trying to remember whose voice that was.

It wasn't Kakashi's. It wasn't Yamato's. They knew about one another, were even in a kind of competition over her affections. This man, however, was not aware she had two lovers, or that their clothes were sometimes left at her place... So it couldn't be Naruto that had walked into her room this early in the morning, and Kiba wouldn't dare do that again. Shino hardly ever talked to her these days, so he shouldn't be around. If Shikamaru wanted to talk to her, he'd tap on her window to see if she were awake. Thankfully, Lee still hadn't figured out where she lived. If it were Iruka-sensei, he would know already she wasn't going to be awake yet and wouldn't bother dropping by.

So who was this idiot in her room daring to ask questions about whose clothing was on her floor?

Cracking open one eye, she spied the clothing first. They weren't on the floor, but she saw that they were folded neatly on top of her dresser. Based on one roughly patched rip, the clothes were Yamato's. Kakashi had repaired the shirt because he was the one who had cut it with a kunai during a training session.

Turning her head a bit more, she could see the one who'd spoken sitting at the foot of the bed, bare back facing her, black messy hair, and a circular tattoo on his shoulder... No... not a tattoo. A curse seal.

"Sasuke?" she asked, loosing her grogginess quickly.

He turned his head to look at her. It was Sasuke.

"What are you doing in my room?" she asked, balling up a fist.

He raised a brow at her, wondering how she couldn't remember what they'd been doing only hours ago. Then his mind tuned to the perfect answer to give. After all, his clothes were still on the floor. He stood up and walked around to her side of the bed, only to open the window blinds and let the light stream directly into her eyes.

"Why do you have a man's clothes on your dresser?" he asked, crossing his arms, amused with the play of expressions on her face. "And don't act like you don't remember last night. You wanted it."

Oh fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

She had been drinking with the girls last night. He had shown up and they all invited him to join them. He had leaned on her, drunken, all the way back to her place. They argued a bit about where he should crash for the night. She offered a spare room of her own. For the life of her, though, she couldn't remember having allowed him into her room at all.

Squinting against the light, she could see he was still completely naked.

"Get your clothes on and get out of here before somebody sees you!" she hissed, jumping up to riffle through her pajama drawer and pull something on.

"Who's going to see me?" he asked. "The man whose clothes are over there?"

"Yes, him!" she answered, picking his shirt up off the floor and throwing it at his face. "Believe it or not, you're not the only guy I've brought home... not even recently. This one is someone I actually believe might kill you if he finds out what we did last night. So, please, get out and pretend this never happened!"

There weren't many people who could kill him, not even here in Konoha, not even with all the foreign Kage and their top shinobi guards that were visiting to show support for the new Hokage right now. Of those people, there were even less he could believe she'd sleep with in her own bed. As she ranted, he moved over to the dresser and picked up the jonin winter jacket, inspecting the size of the garment as well as the repaired parts. The man would be about the same height as himself, but broader in the shoulders and chest. That ruled out a few more people. He checked the collar, noting that the person was a brunet, a brunet with a little bit of curl to his hair if the one weaved into the collar was any indication.

"Are you listening to me?" Sakura screeched, jerking the jacket out of his hands. "I cook breakfast every Saturday morning for everybody. Get dressed and pretend you showed up early to help me or something!"

"Shouldn't one of us shower first?" he suggested. "Sex is a very potent scent."

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Morning would find Haruno Sakura cooking for a half hour before help arrived. Usually her help would be Kakashi or Yamato, but often Lee would barge in and take over completely. Chouji would show up next, thankfully bringing much of his own food so that the others could have something to eat, too. Sai would come around next, then pick something or someone he found interesting to sketch. Tenten and Ino would trail in later, dragging Shikamaru with them. Naruto would drop in with Kiba and Sakura would drop some dog food down for Akamaru, more if any of Kakashi's pack were around.

Hinata and Shino would wait until later to come by, once most of the raucous had been silenced by full bellies. If he was in town, Gai would come by for a small bite to eat and then run off with Lee. By ten o'clock, Kurenai would show up, Youko clasping tightly to her hand until she spotted the dogs. The whole house would become their play pen for hours.

Cartoons would be turned on, card games would be played. Other friends would show up and stay a while or only drop by to collect those who had other obligations for the day. Many would go outside to play games in the yard or nap in the shade. More food would be brought in and prepared, more dishes, too. Everyone had at least one plate, bowl, cup, or serving spoon of someone else's by the end of the day. Sakura had some of everybody's and hardly none of her own anymore.

This Saturday was the first time Uchiha Sasuke had decided to show up. Naruto had tried many times to get the young man to pop his head in for a few minutes, even at the end of the day, but had failed week after week. Not only had he shown up for the weekly get-together, but he'd come in even earlier than Yamato and Kakashi. So early, in fact, he'd shown up the night before.

The moment Yamato walked through the door, he knew something was off.

Instead of smelling food, he heard the shower running, and cursing, and a male chuckle. Normally, something like that wouldn't be a problem, since it was often himself that would be in the shower with her right now. If it wasn't him, it would be Kakashi, since she'd pretty much told them that if they couldn't share with each other, neither of them could have her at all. Her end of the deal was that she wouldn't be with anybody besides the two of them while the arrangement lasted.

That was not Kakashi's chuckle.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

He had laughed at her. She was trying to protect him and he laughed at her.

"What did you do?" she demanded, voice steady and low.

"I gave you what you wanted without any of the guilt," he answered, poking his head out the door.

"So, since it wasn't exactly by my own will, you figure my boyfriend won't mind?" she asked, fists balling up.

"How can he? I forced you, and you don't even remember how many times you came!"

She grabbed the door handle and caught his neck with it. With his head trapped on her side of the door, body on the other, she crashed her fist into his cheek, pulling the door harder into his neck with the other hand. She shoved the door into his shoulder, grabbed him by the hair and hauled him down the hall, through the living room, into the kitchen, and jerked him towards the back door. She had every intent on tossing his smirking, naked ass right out the door and down the block.

"Sakura?"

Her attention was broken. She lost the concentration needed to keep Sasuke from escaping the second she heard Yamato's voice from the patio door.

Her heart sank even lower. He was one of the people she cherished most in the world, one of only two she'd ever let into her bed. One of only two she openly said she loved apart from her parents.

"Please," she asked, throat tightening up, "go away."

His eyes narrowed on Sasuke, the younger man still naked and holding his bloodied face and backing away from Sakura slowly, as if she might not see him leaving if he didn't make a run for it while still so close.

"What have you done now?" Yamato ground out, knowing Sakura's earlier abuse of the man's head wasn't of the same kind she gave Naruto. Naruto wouldn't have been bloodied just for showing up naked. Granted, he would have been tossed out, but not beaten.

"Please don't," Sakura begged again, seeming to curl into herself. Never before had Yamato witnessed this behavior despite it being described to him by Kakashi years ago. "Just go. I'll deal with it."

"I heard what you said," Yamato stated, staring at Sasuke, squaring off a bit. "I'll give you five seconds before Kakashi walks in and sees how much you've bled on Sakura's floor."

Sasuke bolted. Yamato pinned him to the floor, still inside the kitchen.

"I didn't say I'd give you those five seconds to escape!" he yelled into his ear, one hand pinning his hands, the other hand fisted in Sasuke's hair. "Not this time, you bastard!"

Sasuke pushed hard, if it weren't for the disorienting head injuries Sakura had given him, he'd already have sprung free. But Yamato was warmed up from the walk here, angry, bigger, almost as fast as Kakashi, and had literally grown roots from his body to anchor both of them to the hardwood flooring.

Four seconds later, if anyone had been counting, Kakashi was sprinting through the same door, worried about the yelling he had heard a second before.

He took stock of the situation. Sakura was curled into a ball by the sink, crying for the first time since Naruto had almost died on them four years ago. Her hands were bloody. Looking left, he followed a few drops of blood until he saw Yamato and another man pinned beneath him. A naked man.

Seeing as Sakura didn't appear physically harmed herself, the blood had to be coming from the trapped idiot that touched his and Yamato's woman. He checked on Sakura anyway.

"Don't touch me!" she spat, scooting away uncharacteristically.

Kakashi took another look at the captive. "You're going to have a long, dangerous mission. You will not return."


	9. One Plus One Equals?

There came a point during their first winter when the three of them were forced to share a bed. After Yamato built them separate rooms, however, Kakashi and Sakura both felt he meant for them to stay separate. That was, of course, before they actually looked at each room. All three beds were king sized for a reason, Yamato explained with a smirk.

When Sakura worked nights, she would often find the guys cuddled up in her bed in the morning. When Kakashi came home late from a long day, he could find the same thing in his bed. When Yamato came home in the middle of the night, he often found his companions in his bed, too. Generally, they slept separate, but when one was gone, it became a good luck gesture for the other two to command their missing member's bed. Otherwise, even after sex, they often did not stay in each other's beds.

It was generally a bad idea to share a bed with any one of the three, anyway. Yamato had nightmares of his childhood and would occasionally act in self defense. Kakashi often dreamed of the wars, too, and would wake up with raikiri or basic rasengan in hand. Sakura... Yamato had to fix her flooring and bed many times. It would be a while before they could safely sleep in the same bed.

So, the first time all three went to bed together, slept through the night, and awoke safely in the morning was considered, and silently agreed upon, as a success.

Kakashi awoke first, the cool spring air making sure he didn't go back to sleep when he realized his bedmates had actually kicked the blankets off in the night. Kakashi didn't do well with cold on his own, so he had to believe it was Sakura's body heat that kept him comfortable enough through the night. Her left leg and arm were trapped under his body, her forehead pressed between his shoulder blades. Taking pity on the fact that her limbs would be in pain when she woke up, he carefully extricated himself, found his house shoes, and stood. Intent on getting non-burnt toast for breakfast, he started to leave Sakura's room, then turned back to look on her.

It was impulse, really, but he had to see. She looked so perfectly comfortable, half-entwined in Yamato's arms, bleary eyed as she started to wake up and realize she wasn't alone like normal. The confusion looked cute combined with her messy hair and small drool patch on the corner of her pillow. Kakashi left her to figure out the rest herself. He wanted toast.

Behind her, Yamato held her close, nose buried in her neck, stomach flush with her back, fingers laced with hers on her hip. He felt her begin to stir and held on tighter by reflex. She felt good against him, and between his dreams and actually feeling her pressed against him when he woke, he was quite ready to play. He neither knew nor cared whether Kakashi was in the room right now. He had walked in on her and Kakashi having sex before. Kakashi had walked in on Sakura sucking his dick before. These were things that would happen in relationships like these, and they all knew it, even expected it.

Sakura felt the growing hard-on behind her and started to enjoy it for a moment. Kakashi would have breakfast waiting for them when they were done, she reasoned. It certainly wouldn't hurt anything to take advantage of this short time they had together. When he had come home yesterday, it was with a kid. The day before, Kakashi had been talking about having kids. Nearly three weeks ago, she had been taken advantage of by Sasuke... Sakura pushed Yamato back and sat up, eager not to be touched. The very thought of what happened made her feel unworthy of Yamato's and Kakashi's continued loyalty and affection. She hadn't had sex with either of them since that incident.

She regretted sitting up so fast. Her stomach rolled a little, and she burped, bringing up a drop of bile.

Yamato sighed sadly, he wanted to just put his arms around her now, comfort her. If he did that, she would shove him away even harder, he knew, so he kept his distance and only spoke.

"Are you ever going to let go of him?"

That didn't come out the way he meant, and Sakura understood. "How? I should have kicked him away the moment... He never should have made it in here..."

"I love you, Sakura," he told her, carefully putting his fingers on her hand. "I love you. Do you understand?"

She nodded. "I need the bathroom. I'm sorry. Please don't tell Kakashi."

Yamato frowned as she left the room, then threw on his shirt and made his way after her. He meant only to poke his head into the spare bedroom across the hall, to check on the boy from River Country. He heard more burping, some uncomfortable moaning, and vomit. The problem was that he heard it from both the guest room and Sakura's bathroom at almost the same time. He wasn't sure who to check on first.

"I've got Sakura if you've got the boy," Kakashi's voice suggested from the other end of the hall.

"Why do I have to take the kid?" he asked, put off by the thought of handling a child who likely just puked all over the bed and his clothes.

"You're the one who brought him home," Kakashi reminded.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

As far as anyone was concerned, Uchiha Sasuke had been sent on an S-class mission alone. When he did not return two months later, his remains were found three days' travel in the wrong direction. His eyes were stabbed out. His nose was crushed, as were his left cheek and brow. Every bone in his body was bruised if not cracked at least a little.

Most disturbingly, someone had become artistic with his stomach and genitals. A stick was rammed straight up his ass, and another one down his throat. He had not a stitch of clothing or a single weapon left.

The team that found him was sworn to secrecy about the manner in which they found him. Kakashi made sure the story was that Sasuke was found surrounded by enemies he'd taken down before someone killed him from behind.

He also made sure Sakura was present for the formulation of the cover story. He made sure she, not Naruto, knew the truth of how the body was found. He also knew that she would know who the killers were... murderers really.

"Don't tell anyone, Sakura," he said to her after the ANBU team had left. "If your baby is his and not mine or Yamato's... You don't want the child growing up thinking its father was so cruel."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"Did you know your cousins have two different fathers?" Haruno Mebuki questioned her daughter over lunch. "She switched boyfriends, and slept with the second one just a few weeks after the last time she slept with the first one. It seems she had two eggs drop at the same time and they each got fertilized by a different man. It's really risky for women on your father's side to do things like that, since multiples are the normal thing for them instead of singles like most other people. It' often noticeable if the woman's been unfaithful. It's why the family is so big, too."

"Uh..." Sakura looked back at her support, seeing the hesitation in their eyes too. "That's... I knew that, Mom..."

"And it's making arranging the family reunion even harder!" Mebuki sighed. "Two of your other cousins are due to have babies around the date we set last month, and pregnancies are like deaths! They come in threes. Someone is pregnant and hasn't said anything yet, I know it. Please tell me it's not you, dear! The guys you hang around are all ninja. Not a one of them is likely to live to see thirty or their child graduate school if you get with one of them..."

"Mom-" Sakura tried to interrupt gently. Kakashi and Yamato were both over thirty, standing right behind her. Her mother was most likely going on this rant because she knew about their relationship with Sakura. It was her way of saying she worried about her daughter's reputation.

"What am I saying? I'm not likely to see you reach thirty years old! I take it back, you need to get married quick and give me some grand-babies soon. You hear me? I want grandchildren!"

"Haruno-san," Kakashi moved forward, placing a hand on the pacing woman's shoulder, "please listen to your daughter. She has... difficult news to share."

That stopped the woman. She sat down across the table from her daughter, worried. "I know you've been sick. Are you... dying?"

"No Mom," she corrected. "You're going to be a grandma."

"Come again?"

"I'm pregnant... by one of them..."

Her mother fainted.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Sakura needed a distraction. Her world was in chaos yet again. The news that she was carrying three instead of one was scary. Sure, both of her boyfriends had promised to be around to help out (since each of them were equally capable of being the father), and she knew she could rely on them.

Still, their anger over the third possibility, and the reason for Kakashi's and Yamato's current clinginess, was becoming overbearing. She couldn't have any time to herself at home. If she said she was going to get something to eat, one of them would cook for her and the other would grab her feet for a massage while she was forced to wait. If she said she was going to get a shower, she'd be told to sit down while they argued over the temperature for a bubble bath they wanted to draw for her instead. If she said she was tired and going to lay down, they'd both cuddle up with her in the large bed, thwarting her plans to cuddle up with a good book instead.

So she decided to try a friend's house today. They made her promise to stop by Naruto's and check on Hinata's condition. Her pregnancy had been hard, and now her milk was drying up before Kenta was done breast feeding. It was a bit of a mystery, but one that had an answer if only the woman would be honest about her daily life.

When she knocked on the door of the Uzumaki household, it was not answered as quickly as usual. She knew someone was home. There was movement inside, but it was slow and somewhat burdened. When the door did open, it was only a crack at first.

"Naruto?" Sakura asked, catching sight of her team mate.

"Shh!" he held up a finger to his lips, whispering hoarsely. "I just got the baby to sleep!"

"Can we talk out here?" she asked, backing up a bit and gesturing to the patio.

"Sure," Naruto came outside, making sure to leave the door cracked. "What's up?"

"Is Hinata home?" Sakura asked.

"She's with her sister at their father's," Naruto frowned. "They're pleading together now."

"Pleading what?"

"Not to brand Kenta."

Sakura was shocked, "He's Hinata's son! The man can't possibly be considering doing that to his first born's first born!"

"He is," Naruto ground his teeth. "Hiashi is still pushing to have Hanabi-chan be his heir, and that is fine with Hinata. But this? If I didn't think it would make things worse, I'd be there myself. Hell, I'd do it anyway, but I don't have anyone to look after Kenta right now."

Sakura pursed her lips, "I will. If you think being there can help, I believe it, too. You go break into their meeting, and Ill watch your baby."

"Your boyfriends would kill me if they knew I left you alone here," Naruto smiled sadly. "They're worried about you. They have been since you started getting sick. Actually, I am, too. Why are you keeping it so secret? Babies are good. The worst your kid will have to worry about is who to call Tou-san."

Sakura sighed and looked away for a moment. Naruto knew. She was going to tell him today anyway, but now she had to wonder, "Who told you?"

"I'm a dad now, silly," he smiled at her. "I know the signs... and I can feel it when you're near-by and I'm meditating."

"It must be a while since you did," Sakura said, choosing to tell him the newest information. "It's triplets."

His eyes bulged a bit. "And I thought one baby was hard to take care of! You're lucky you'll have the extra help."

"I wish they would leave me alone," Sakura huffed, standing up and beginning to pace. "I appreciate what they've done for me, what they're doing for me, but I just want to be left alone for a while. I need some space to deal with this on my own. There's another problem with all this... they know there's another person that could be the father... and how much it hurts to think about what I did... what he did... what they did to him!"

Naruto stood and put his hands on her shoulders, locking eyes with her, "Sakura, you're rambling. What happened? Did you cheat on them?"

She nodded, then shook her head, "It's not that simple. I wasn't really willing. If I wasn't drunk he wouldn't have been able to get to me. I looked willing, but I didn't know anything about it in the morning... Yamato caught him, and then Kakashi walked in. I thought they were going to be angry with me. I told them to leave, but Yamato heard him say he forced me."

"Who hurt you, Sakura-chan?" he asked, squeezing her shoulders for support. "More importantly, did you kick his ass for it? Or do I have to?"

She shook her head, putting her hands on his, "Sasuke is already dead, Naruto."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Dark brown eyes, nearly black stared back at Kakashi. The baby's light pink hair was not as thick as he'd imagined a baby's hair to be, but those eyes were strong and focused on his own. The rest of the girls' features would take a while to become definite enough to know what she got from which parent, but those eyes were enough to say a lot. They were not Kakashi's. They were not Yamato's.

The second baby was handed to Yamato. A boy with pale hair, much thicker than his sister's, eyes scrunched up as he squalled.

"Your son should be an opera singer one day, Kaka-senpai," Yamato joked.

"Just like his grandmother, then," Kakashi replied, noting that their talking seemed to sooth the child a bit. Now the baby was hiccuping and started to reveal emerald green eyes.

"He'll be a lady killer, too," Yamato added.

"I thought they said there were two boys," Kakashi mused, looking back down at the girl in his arms. "Guess they got you wrong, eh?"

The doors opened once more, a nurse poked her head out. "Third one's out if you want to come see. She's not done yet, since there's still afterbirth to deal with, but we thought you might want to see this one, too, before we take them off to the nursery. Sakura asked to see you both, too."

Nervous again, both men walked carefully into the delivery room. There was some soft arguing going on between Sakura and her mother. Sakura was mostly ignoring her mother, though, choosing instead to caress the little boy on her chest. He still made uncomfortable noises every few seconds, his purple face showing his discomfort of being out of the womb.

"You got one, too, it looks like," Sakura smiled weakly up at Yamato when the men stopped at her side. "He's got your eyes and hair. He has to be yours."

"Strange that the plant boy's baby would be the least colorful," Kakashi remarked.

"Knock it off, all of you!" Mebuki stood from Sakura's side. "If the two of you weren't so high up in the ranks, I'd have you both castrated for doing this to my daughter! Now she's got three kids by two different fathers? The whole family will think she's a slut!"

Sakura, Yamato, and Kakashi all shared a look. Thankfully, Mebuki had never seen Kakashi's face. She had no way of knowing the girl Kakashi held was not his daughter... unless Sakura had told her mother already. Then again, Sakura may not have had a good enough look at her daughter yet to know.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Most people complained about the burnt food their spouse made the night before. That was the growing pain many new families endured when attempting to eat from groceries instead of take-out in order to both save money and spend more time together. In this case, the bad food was due to the cook being used to being catered to for every meal, even ones away from home. She had absolutely no idea how long or at what setting to cook anything. The exact reason of her nervousness as her husband brought a mouthful to his lips was lost on the man. He figured it was because she was just so very eager to please him.

The bite was almost crunchy, and Naruto cracked a grin. At least he wouldn't have to complain about burnt food. Hinata had undercooked dinner.

"It... it's good?" Hinata asked hopefully.

"Nope!" Naruto answered honestly. "It's terrible. But don't worry, Sakura-chan invited us over tonight. I told her I'd see what you had planned first."

Hinata was crestfallen. All her hard work, and he said it was terrible. Seeing the tears starting to form, Naruto put an arm around her shoulders, giving her a gentle kiss on the cheek for comfort.

"Don't worry, Hina-koi," he assured. "Tsume-san warned me when she found out you were planning to cook today. Kiba told her the moment he got home after seeing you in the grocery store. She said if you didn't do well enough, she and Chouji's mom would give the both of us lessons."

"You mean, you can't cook either?" she asked, big eyes full of shock.

He shook his head. "That's why I never offered. I was going to let them teach me some stuff first, then surprise you."

"That's very sweet of you," she smiled, still crying.

"I love you," he smiled at her again, pressing another kiss to her cheek. "Come on, we can clean this up later. Maybe Kaka-sensei's dogs will eat it. We should go to Sakura's. Yes?"

"Yes," she nodded, allowing him to help her to her feet.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Yamanaka Ino leaned back in her rocking chair, looking out the window at the people in the yard. It was the annual cookout for the Rookie Nine, their extended team mates, former sensei, husbands, wives, children... The number had grown so much over the past few years. She wished on rare occasions that Uchiha Sasuke could join them, but then things would be so different... and Haruno Mai might not exist at all, or her brothers wouldn't.

A small circle gathered around two of the men, both former sensei and team-leaders. Gai had challenged Kakashi to another ridiculous game. This time it appeared to involve the tetherball post. Among the onlookers were Naruto and Lee, each supporting their captain. She was happy they still got along and found things to be rivals over other than Sakura, though Ino knew Lee still held out hope. She also knew Naruto wasn't exactly pleased with Sakura's choice of boyfriends, either, seeing as the men both held a margin of control over the Nine-tails.

Speaking for rivalries, here came her one time rival, Sakura, through the door.

"You alright, Ino?" she asked, heading for the kitchen.

"Just a bit too warm outside for me," Ino answered.

"Oh, I remember those days," Sakura smiled, returning to rub a hand over Ino's pregnant belly. "Impossible to stay cool unless you're half in the fridge or right in front of the air conditioner."

"Hey, Sakura?" Ino grabbed her by the wrist. "I'm glad we're not after the same guy anymore."

"Me, too. Our men are much better to us than Sasuke would have been. They actually love us back."

Ino blushed a little, "You think he loves me? He's never said it."

"Of course Shino loves you! Why else would he give you foot-rubs and chocolates every day?"


	10. Growing Up Quick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kids grow up quick. One moment, you're changing diapers, then, you blink, and they're graduating school.

Seeing as Iruka was sick, Kakashi was elected to take over his class for the day. Sakura was busy pulling a double at the hospital. The baby sitter was off visiting family on the other side of the country. Nobody else had time. None of the day-cares had openings. That left Yamato at home with three two-year-olds and a crabby second-in-command of ANBU on the other end of a long telephone call of explaining.

"But you don't understand, damn it!" the woman cursed him from headquarters. "Sand's chief of staff for the Wind daimyo's protection detail won't talk to me! He's a sexist pig and demands to speak with you only. I'm doing my best not to kill him, Tenzo, but it's getting really hard. Please, I don't care if you have to bring your kids here, just talk to this guy for me before I start another war with him!"

"Who do you expect to watch the kids while I'm talking with him, Yuugao?" he demanded.

"Uh..." she thought about that one. "Me and Shikamaru can."

"Nara-san isn't going to be there. I just talked to him when I called to see if Anko could look after them today."

There was a soft curse on the other end. "Maybe Sai can help me entertain them for long enough."

Yamato sighed heavily. "Is he there?"

"Yes."

"Just make sure they don't give him baby-fever again. His current girlfriend is a keeper, but she already said she's not ready for kids."

"I'll do that."

"Be there in ten minutes, then."

Twenty minutes later, Yamato showed up with Mai fussing in his arms, Kato and Naoki were being held apart by a wood clone while attempting to fight over a blanket he couldn't get them to release before leaving the house.

"Stop it now, or I'm going to give all three of you a spanking and a long nap today!" he practically yelled in unison with his clone when they got to the room Yuugao and Sai prepared for the kids to stay in for the time being.

Yuugao raised her eyebrows, "Oh... one of those days?"

"You bet," he replied, not-so-gently putting Mai down on her butt because she refused to stand on her own. "Mai is angry I made her eat apples at breakfast. Kato was sleeping in with his baby-blanket, but Naoki decided he wanted it for himself. They haven't eaten because they didn't stop fighting long enough for one bite. I packed them all a larger than normal lunch to make up for it... if you can get them to eat it. So far, they're more interested in drinking than eating, so there's extra carrot juice in there for them, too. Seems to be the best way to sneak vegetables and any fruits they don't like."

"I thought this meeting was only supposed to take a half hour at most," she prompted, taking the proffered, previously listed items.

"They would if it was any other daimyo detail captain," he hummed a moment. "This one gets onto as many tangents as possible. It can take five minutes just to get a departure date from him, and another ten to get the expected time of arrival."

Yuugao looked back at the kids, all three of them in different states of misbehavior, and instantly regretted offering to watch the children. The whole reason she wasn't with Yamato at any point was because he made it clear he wanted kids, and she wasn't ready for that much commitment considering their line of work. She feared the day he wouldn't come home. How Sakura handled the fact that one or both of her children's fathers might die in battle in an undisclosed location at the drop of a hat, Yuugao didn't understand. Granted, both Yamato and Kakashi were the elite of the elite, it could still happen. Everyone had weaknesses, and there was always somebody out there stronger and faster than you. ANBU generally found that person a bit quicker than the rest of the ranks.

"Please tell Sai I said thanks when he shows up again," Yamato gave her a smile and a quick kiss on the cheek. After all these years, they had learned to keep it platonic, if slightly affectionate. For him, it was a show of gratitude and trust, giving her that peck on the cheek. She understood, but still hated him for the state the kids were in when he dumped them on her.

"Should I kiss him for you, too?" she teased.

"If you want," he shrugged. "But I don't think he'd like it much, knowing it came from me."

Children deposited, he made his way to the meeting room, reabsorbing his wood clone on the way down the stairs. Two-hours into conversation with the sexist who refused to speak with Yuugao, their talk was interrupted by a gasping masked figure. Yamato was glad for the distraction.

"What do you want?" he asked, trying to sound upset.

"It's... Sir, there are children playing in the fountain! They're naked and getting the tapestry soaked! One of the boys even peed on it!"

That tapestry, when wet with water, was just a tapestry. When soaked with any bodily fluid, however, it became a prison for the offending fluid's body. Since there would only be one group of kids ever allowed in this facility, Yamato knew who it would be.

Naoki was very particular about relieving himself only in toilets or on a rock when a toilet wasn't available. If no rocks could be found, either, he'd just hold it. Strange kid. Mai was a perfect little lady about it all. Her only problem was holding it long enough to get to a proper place to go. His brother, however, had no such reservations as of yet. Kato rebelled against potty training completely, and he made it a point to piss on anything he knew he shouldn't.

With less than the time it took anybody to blink, Yamato was at the tapestry, having transitioned through the wood and stone floors and walls. The tapestry already had hold of the boy, wrapping itself around the child, but being slipped off again quickly. Kids were faster and stronger than most people gave them credit for. Though Yamato had his plan already in-place, Kato instinctively freed himself faster. Somehow he got his little hands together, and a great gob of light expelled from his mouth, a perfect sphere that burned away the canvas attacking him.

"What the hell was that?" one of the younger recruits asked aloud while Yamato focused on catching his kids, rounding them up, and forcing them to put their clothes on again.

"I haven't seen that in nearly thirty-five years," an old ANBU said in awe. "That was an old Hatake attack that the White Fang liked to use... Ball Lightning. How is that kid still running around? Sakumo-san only used it to end fights or bring down large enemies because it drained him!"

"But I thought those kids were taichou's?"

"Really, kid? Really?"s

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=--=-

"There's no way the three of you are all related!" Asama-sensei commented, looking back down at his student roster. "Distant cousins, maybe?"

"No, sir," Mai replied. "They are my brothers. We're triplets."

"Haruno is a civilian name..."

"Our mother is no civilian!" Kato scoffed. "She's Haruno Sakura!"

Asama-sensei's eyes widened a little. "I see... so two of you aren't the children of her husband... You're Hatake."

"So we all have geniuses as fathers and share the same top-of-the-line mother," Naoki shrugged. "You scared we're going to know the lessons better than you?"

The class laughed nervously.

"No," the old man smiled a little, "but I just don't think you should call your tramp of a mother a 'top-of-the-line' anything. You'll learn your places."

The two boys and the girl between them shared a look, stood, and walked out of the classroom.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"To transfer classes," Kato said, looking over his shoulder as his brother and sister passed into the hallway. "You're not worth our time... Maybe Naruto-ojii-san will let us switch to his old teacher's class instead."

Everyone knew Asama-sensei hated Umino Iruka with a passion simply because the old man's daughter was currently married to him. Their relationship was complicated, but not as much as the relationship and connections the triplets had. Little did Asama-sensei know, but word of this first-day of school discussion would even reach the Kazekage's ears. Asama-sensei would not much longer have a job... anywhere.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"Mom?"

Hinata looked across the large dinner table of the Haruno household to her eight-year-old son. "Yes, baby?"

"Mom, Naoki and I have been talking about what a hero is. I just thought I should tell you that you're my hero," Kenta said, then dutifully went back to placing spoons, catching up to the oblivious Kato who was placing the forks.

"I am?" Hinata finally choked out when the boys reached her side. She couldn't believe what she was hearing, it gave her that fluttering sensation in her stomach and chest the same as she'd had when the boy's father had proposed. It felt good, but unbelievably so.

"Well... yeah..." Kenta shrugged. "You're pretty, and nice to good people, but kick the butts of bad people. Daddy's supposed to be the strongest in the village, but he does what you tell him to, which means you're really the strongest. A hero is someone you can love, too, and I love you a lot. You're a real life hero."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Aburame Michiyo had a problem. Her mother couldn't help, and her father said it was Michiyo's responsibility. If she didn't help the dragonfly mend it's wings, it would die, and she didn't want that at all. She'd asked people for help all day long, and most shied away, saying it was disgusting or not important. It hurt that they would call her names and say nasty things about her father as she walked away. Never once did they realize how beautiful and precious this insect was to her.

As much as it shamed her to think this precious being would die because of her inabilities, Michiyo resigned herself to walking back home and finding a place to set the dragonfly to die.

It was as she was passing by the academy's gymnasium that Haruno Kato stepped right in her way. If it weren't for the shadow he cast over her, she would have run straight into his chest.

"Please don't pick on me today," she begged, remembering their last encounter included her jet black hair turning bright purple. Despite the initial humiliation, and her mother's disapproval, she secretly liked the new color. She couldn't admit that to Kato, though. It would mean going back on her word of hating him forever.

"Just wanted to see what you have there," he said, looking inquisitively at the younger girl's hands.

"He's one of my dragonflies, and he's hurt really bad, so you can't touch him, okay?" she nearly shouted, finally showing her tear streaked face. "He's going to die..."

"I thought the Aburame had techniques to heal their bugs," Kato commented, refusing to get out of her way.

"We don't have anything for breaks," she said. "We have things for sickness and chakra imbalances, but not breaks."

"What is broken on him?"

Michiyo was confused by the soft, concerned look in the older boy's eyes. This was so unlike how he treated her in the past. She didn't answer him.

"I think my mom can fix it, whatever it is," he suggested. "And if she can't do it, maybe one of my dads can. He knows more about insects than mom."

"You think so?" she asked, face brightening a little.

"I think so. Come on. She's at home right now."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

When it came to being a Kage, there was a lot more to it than being strong in battle. One had o learn to get personal with those they lead, and, though Naruto could do this too, they had to be able to deal with snot-nosed brats. He had to deal with the brazen ones, the quiet ones, and the clowns, and she had just the kids for him to take on.

Their first meeting was to be at the school, in Iruka's room, the same as when he met Kakashi the first time. These were special cases, Iruka told him, just as he, Sasuke, and Sakura had been. All three of them were highly intelligent, all three were top-of-the-class in both knowledge and physical testing. They were also two-years younger than the rest of their class. Naruto was going to be training ten-year-olds.

At least he had a kid their age, himself. One year younger, to be exact, but his kid would have another three years before he graduated. Naruto had already worked it out with Kurenai-sensei. Although his son was top-of-the-class like these kids were, he wanted his kid to grow up first. He wanted his kid to have a childhood that he and Hinata were denied in different ways.

But, when he saw who it was sitting there waiting for him, Naruto froze. These weren't ten-year-olds. They were seven. They were Sakura's kids.

"Uncle Naruto? What are you doing here?" Mai asked.

Naruto held up a finger, "Excuse me. I have to talk with your teacher."

He turned right around and went straight to the staff lounge, knowing somebody had to be there that would know where Iruka was. He was blessed, instead, with finding Iruka already there drinking a cup of tea as he graded papers.

"You told me they were younger than their classmates by two years," Naruto walked in, accusing. "Those kids are five years too young to graduate!"

"No, Naruto," Iruka leaned back in his chair. "They were already placed in a class two years ahead. Yesterday, they tested out so well that I put them through a full testing. They're better than the rest of the graduates. I passed them. Considering your own experience with Sasuke who was held back like you're asking us to do with your son, I thought you should be the one to teach them. Having a parent as a Jonin leader is not an option, legally, otherwise I would have asked one of their fathers instead. You were the only person I felt they could be trusted with."

"Sakura doesn't even know yet!" Naruto belted out. "I just talked to her yesterday, she thinks they still have two or three more years!"

Iruka frowned. "I thought she did know they passed."

Naruto set his jaw, "I'm going to whip their little asses for this."

As he walked out of the door, and back down the hall towards the kids, Iruka followed discretely, curious about how Naruto would handle this, and perfectly willing to back him up on the disappointment factor. It was his understanding that all three parents had given consent for full testing and early graduation. It seemed at least one signature, probably all three, was falsified.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"You know, Sakura-chan," Naruto leaned back onto the fence surrounding the training ground, "I never would have guessed this day would come."

"What do you mean?" she asked, turning her attention from the genin in the field to the man at her side.

"Me, a teacher," he laughed, scratching at the back of his head. "Seems like just last week we were taking the bell test... but it was really just last week when those three did it. Kakashi didn't help them cheat by telling them what do do, did he? None of you told them what he did to us?"

She smiled. "Don't worry; they don't know you were tied up. Their teamwork is due to the fact that they've lived together all their lives. Yamato and Kakashi and I have trained them together outside of school. They've had to share one of everything all their lives."

"Not really," Naruto corrected. "They've had two dads all their lives."

"And six uncles and three aunts, and two grandparents," Sakura added on her own. "But only one mother, one home, one of each toy, one of each shirt, one of each pair of pants, style of shoe, bathroom... One day at a time, hoping Daddy Kakashi will come by for dinner, hoping Daddy Yamato will come home from his missions, hoping that Mommy will be home in time from the hospital to read them their bedtime stories...

"My children may have excellent teamwork, Naruto, but it was born out of necessity. They've had to look out for one another many times since they were two. They may be geniuses, but they're still only seven-years-old."

Naruto knew where she was going with this, and he hated it. She was scared her children wouldn't be safe with him, that they would end up jaded at an early age as their fathers had been.

"Remember what life was like when we were their age?" he asked.

That turned her mood around a bit. "You played tricks on me as much as possible. Usually it involved a bucket of paint on my head."

"Well, those are the kinds of things your kids are still doing, Sakura-chan. They're still restricted to D-rank missions. Kaka-sensei knows you're worried, and even though he knows they're ready, he's worried too. So, they're fighting harder to grow enough in his eyes to be let loose on real missions. They'll be more prepared than we were and at a younger age."

"I just wish they hadn't chosen to be ninja."

"Things aren't what they were when we fist started. The nations are still at peace."

"Then who keeps sending at least five teams a day to the hospital?" she questioned.


	11. Changes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> K, so, this is SHORT. More real plot in the next chapter.

Kakashi looked at the clock across the room and sighed. He'd cleared his schedule for lunch and an additional two hours today. He called Yamato from the shadows and ordered him to pick out where they would be going to lunch. Confused, but secretly delighted, Yamato took them to lunch at a vegetarian place three blocks away.

Kakashi payed for both meals.

Yamato was suspicious now. Something bad had happened, he was sure, and Kakashi was trying to butter him up for the news. He was right.

When they got back to the office, Kakashi sat him down for what was supposed to be a long talk, it seemed.

"She's in love with you," Kakashi stated. "She likes me, but it's obvious she's in love with you."

"Isn't this a conversation we should be having with her?" Yamato asked

"No," Kakashi stated flatly. "I don't think our arrangement is fair to either of us anymore. I'm not spending nearly as much time with her as you are, and I haven't been doing so for years. I honestly think that, if it weren't for Kato, she would have dropped me a long time ago."

"So you want to leave us?"

"No," Kakashi shook his head, leaning forward in his seat. "I want you to propose to her."

He sat a bit straighter in the chair, "What?"

"You love her far more than I do, and she knows it. She's warmer to you than with me. You two should be together and I should step aside. I've been the other man in your relationship for years. It's time we ended this mess."

"I thought," Yamato sighed, looking away, "you were happier having a house full of people that love you. Adjusting to living with two people was hard on you, but... when the kids came you took it in stride. You convinced her you'd never leave, and now..."

Kakashi's eyes narrowed on him, "This isn't just about me leaving her, is it?"

Yamato's frown answered the question before his whisper did, "No... I'll miss you, too."

This was the part he'd expected to take the extra two hours. "You and I will still see each other through work, birthdays, outings with friends, and anytime the kids have something important to celebrate."

"It's not the same," Yamato shook his head. "What about planning dinners for just us when the kids are gone and Sakura is working late? What about arguing over books in the early afternoon on weekends? What about Mai? She loves me and listens to me, but she adores you. You're still her daddy even though she's fifteen-years-old."

"She's practically her own woman now," Kakashi answered. "We hardly see her as it is. She can see me as she wishes, as can Naoki and Kato as long as Sakura does not forbid it. As for us... work, birthdays, friendly outings, and other celebrations. I can't keep being the other man in your relationship with Sakura. It hurts to know that I don't have as much of her love as I want, and it's unfair to you that she gives me any at all."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"When did that happen?"

Sakura looked up from her morning tea, looking to her hand where Ino was pointing. The ring on her finger was an old one, a five karat sapphire in the center and several single karat emeralds around the sides, all set in high quality gold. She had received it days ago, but had only recently made the decision to wear it. A whole lot of thought had to be put into it first.

"Yamato proposed," she answered.

Ino gasped, "What about Kakashi?"

"I like being with Kakashi. I love being with Yamato. Kakashi is also, technically our boss, so it's better for his image if we call it quits. The kids will get more consistent parenting, and Kakashi's image will improve both inside and outside of the village. He'll still have a say with them, and he'll always be welcome to visit. He just won't be sleeping with me anymore... much."

The blush on Ino's face spoke volumes. "You intend to go behind Yamato's back?"

"No... just behind the backs of his political enemies."


	12. Skill Set

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had to make some changes here. Originally, Sasuke was still going to be the good guy at this point, and so he got switched out for Naruto when it comes to eating cake. Let me know if I missed the switch anywhere and I'll change it, thanks!

One disturbed leaf was the difference between life and death in situations like these. There was no wind, not even a slight breeze to carry his scent towards the enemy, but it also meant he could be heard that much more clearly. If he didn't pull this off just like his father had shown him, the man up ahead on the path would kill him.

The only way this was going to work was if both of his team mates were in place. Naoki should be to his right, on a lower branch. He would be waiting with a few shuriken. Mai should be a little farther along the path, ready to pull the trip cord. He, Kato, crouched down on the slender branch, listening carefully.

They had set this up an hour ago, knowing their target would be walking down this path soon, hand-in-hand with a date.

Everything fell into place. The loving couple were loud in their approach on the moonlit path, laughing and dancing half the time. Kato rubbed his fingers together once, the resulting spark of electricity alerting his brother and sister to ready themselves. To any by-standers, though, the spark would be easily mistaken as the glow from a lightning bug.

He gave a second flash, signaling Naoki to throw the first bout of shuriken, then turn tail and run for Mai, making sure the target could see him clearly. The target and his date both took the bait, yelling and giving chase at the ten-year-old who was out of bed so late at night. The moment Naoki was across the line, Kato dropped down behind their prey, using the target's noise to muffle his footsteps. Mai sprung her part of the trap just in time to catch the man, but not his date... again as planned.

That was when the target's date, Kato, Mai, and Naoki all three pelted the man with water balloons.

"Happy birthday, Tou-san!" the three ten-year-olds called out, their mother laughing even harder than she was earlier when she saw the look on her husband's furious face turn into a sheepish grin.

"Did you plan this, Sakura?" he asked once the children began pelting one another with the balloons instead.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

This year's Chunin Exam was far less eventful than the one that killed the Sandaime, but nearly as difficult. Sakura wasn't sure being a part of the medical squad this year was the best of ideas, seeing as her own children were participating. If one of them was seriously injured, she wasn't sure she could keep from retaliating against her child's opponent. After many days of pleading and questioning on Naruto's part, however, she felt she could do it. The rules were set that killing would not be allowed at any point between contestants. Anyone who willingly killed their opponent would be sentenced to spend the number of years of that person's life in prison.

She wasn't sure that would be enough, but, since these were teenagers, she figured it might just work to stifle the egos of some of the participants.

Nobody saw this coming.

Her children were all three in the ring, fighting back to back, fending off six opponents at once. Two teams from Mizu surrounded them.

It had started with a match between Aburame Michiyo and a Mizu boy. Things looked to be going in Michiyo's favor, but then the boy changed tactics completely. Unlike Michiyo who used Yamanaka style tactics when with her team, and Aburame style tactics when on her own, this boy was trained in elemental jutsu. Not only that, he could harness more than the typical water techniques of his home. He was nearly as quick with fire tactics. Among his attacks, he'd doused her insects with salt water to knock them down, then spat oil on her and set her on fire.

He didn't stop when she put herself out and the guards called a halt to the fight. Sakura was on her way in to throw the insolent boy off of Michiyo when her own children jumped down from the viewing area and made themselves into a wall between Michiyo and her attacker. That was when the rest of the Mizu boy's team jumped in along with another team.

At least, she knew, her own children were able to harness their own affinities the way the first boy had. Mai and Kato would be able to suppress and defeat the water users as Mai was earth based and Kato followed his father into the lightning realm. Naoki, however, would have to diffuse his opponents attacks, as he was water based, but he, like his father, was thin and extremely light on his feet.

Mai could work with both of them to create new combined jutsu far more easily than others' attempts. If she worked with Naoki, they would pull clay from the ground around them and encase their enemies. If she worked with Kato, she could embed her opponent with magnetic material and Kato could use that to amplify his electrical attacks on that person.

Only recently had the boys been able to come up with a combination of their own that was in any way equal to what they could do with their sister. After carefully studying the techniques previously used by Akatsuki member Kisame, Naoki was able to coat his opponents in salt water which was much more conductive than regular water. It worked much the same way as when Kato and Mai worked together.

Of course, the three had gotten curious about trying their techniques together. Mai and Naoki learned to create a clay embedded with metallic shards that would explode with Kato's command. This explosion was far greater than what could currently be achieved with explosion tags alone, and did not require anything other than fair enough conditions in the land around them.

After the initial clash between her children and the six attackers, the attackers backed off to regroup and think of a new tactic. The Haruno trio already had one in mind. With a quick "are you sure?" glance shared between the three of them, they acted. The six from Mizu found themselves coated in a rapidly drying clay that oozed up from the ground. As they tried wiping it off, more came.

"I suggest you stand still," Kato warned. "Stand still or back off."

"What for? A little mud and pebbles?" one of the other boys asked, completely unaware of the purpose of the pebbles.

"How about we start with something you don't need much... like a pinky finger," Kato said, then lashed out at a girl to his right, tapping the clay coating her fingers and backing off just as quickly as the girl's pinky and ring fingers both exploded. "What else do you want to loose?"

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-

When they walked home, they knew their parents were going to be at the hospital. They were going to be home alone, and that was fine. All three were worn out both from their own fights and the excessive amounts of energy put into their new combination. Food, shower and bed were all that were on the three fourteen-year-olds' minds at the moment.

They'd find out how Michiyo fared in the morning. Of course, they knew she would live. After all, their mother was on her side. It was just that... being burned like that would do major cosmetic damage, not to mention, if it went deep enough, muscle and tendon damage. She would live, but would she be able to live as well as she could have if not burned?

"She'll be like new by the end of the week," Kato said, patting his brother on the back. "Probably even more pretty."

"You think she is pretty?" Mai asked both of them.

"Naoki's had a crush on her for a while," Kato said, rolling his eyes. "Haven't you noticed?"

Eager to get the attention off of himself, Naoki spoke up, "Mai's even worse for Uzumaki Kenta, and so are you for Yuuhi Youko, so I don't want to hear it!"

"Youko is way out of your league, Kato," Mai said, flipping her hair over her back. "She's like... eight years older than us, and way too cool with genjutsu. Besides, she's probably wind based like her father and Naruto-sensei. She'd beat you in an all out fight."

"Oh yeah? What about you and Kenta-kun? He doesn't have much of anything to offer for you to like him!" Kato struck back. "Sure, he's got the Byakugan, but being able to see that far away doesn't really give him much of an advantage in a real fight. All he can do is see the enemy coming and run away!"

"That's our sensei's son, you know," Naoki reminded.

"Exactly! We see him all the time. He might as well be our brother. You wouldn't want to make out with your brother, would you?" Kato added.

"But he's not our brother, and I like him, and that's that!" Mai shouted at them, flinging open the kitchen door intent on going upstairs to her private bathroom and ending the day without dinner.

There was just one problem.

Three adults were standing in her way.

"What are you doing home so early?" Naoki asked for the three of them.

"Feeding you three cake behind your mother's back," Yamato smiled down at his son. "Well, you'll probably want a sandwich first, just to make her happy to know you had a "decent" dinner. But, I think the six of us can eat all the cake and polish off a tub of ice cream before bed, yes?"

All three had happy faces.

"Why are you being nice to us?" Kato voiced his concerns. "We maimed one of them irreparably, and it wasn't even our fight."

Kakashi answered this, "You showed great restraint and effectively won a gamble at the same time. You calculated the exact amount of energy needed to set off only that much of the explosive solution... or was it you two who stopped the explosion from going farther? I didn't catch the specifics."

The third adult, Naruto, offered a solution, "I saw the clay and metal bits move back from the girl's fingers the instant Kato ignited what was on the fingers themselves with a low amount of converted chakra. All three of you worked together to achieve that effect."

"If she wasn't touching her ring finger to her pinky when he touched it," Mai offered, "it wouldn't have been harmed. Naoki and I are good at shifting everything together, but not fast enough for something that small yet."

"How long have you been working on this?" Naruto asked.

"A day," the three chimed in together.

"We're proud of you" Kakashi informed them. "You deserve cake."

"You don't even like cake, dad," Kato commented.

"Today I do."


	13. Dads and Fathers

Umino Iruka had seen some interesting eyes in his days. The many hues of the Hyuuga, he found delightful in women and odd in men. The constant red coloration of the Yuuhi clan showed the fire in their souls. He preferred not to think about the Rinnegan at all, and the Sharingan reminded him of dark days.

This set of sharingan, though, were the only ones he did not fear, not even in his dreams, for they had been used to protect him just days ago.

Haruno Mai watched as her brother, Naoki, collapsed in the mud, and her other brother, Kato, foolishly rushed the enemy, only to be thrown to the side, slamming into a tree so hard he spat out blood on impact. Iruka gathered up just enough chakra to create a clone to bring the boys together as he carefully made his way through the mine-field to Mai's position.

The girl saw him from the corner of her eye and shot at him, pushing him away from the explosion he hadn't seen coming. After a brief second of relief, he looked her over, and saw the two black marks in a sea of red.

Watching her brothers go down, the first stage had been awakened just in time for her to protect their sensei.

 

Due to a severe case of the flue affecting the whole Uzumaki family, Umino Iruka would substitute for Naruto on this mission. It was a D-rank escort mission meant only to deter potential thugs from attacking. Oftentimes, the simple presence of ninja was all that was needed. This time, however, things had to take a bad turn. Sometimes, life just messed with you in the worst of ways.

There was a mine field where once there was a road. The first rider was shredded meat. Everybody else held up. Attackers surrounded the small caravan. Strange popping, almost banging, sounds filled the air. Naoki was the first to fall. His shirt puffed out away from his chest for an instant, then blood followed. Kato rushed at the enemy, but was hit so hard with the invisible projectile that he was pushed into a tree where he collapsed. Mai was part-way into the mine-field, trapped as she watched her brothers fall. Iruka didn't have the speed required to take out all the assailants before she was hit in the arm, and he in the leg.

As he fell, something happened. Mai caught him. Later, she would tell him that, had he fell there, he would have hit a mine with his elbow. These mines were chakra-sensitive, and that is why she could see it, but how she saw it was a mystery.

It was a mystery only to her. Iruka saw her eyes. She had awakened the first stage of Sharingan.

The attackers weren't around much longer. They gained nothing. The kids almost died.

Iruka swore never to substitute in the field again, not for a Jonin leader, at least.

-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

A small glass bottle smacked down on the desk before Kakashi. Inside were small metal shards. He recognized it as a fragmented bullet. The sight was a relative unknown to the soldiers, but to those at the top, bullets, and the weapons that fired them, were becoming a problem.

"Who got hit this time?" he asked, sitting up a bit straighter.

"This was three centimeters from his heart," she snipped.

"Whose heart, Sakura?" he demanded.

"Your son's!" she yelled, temper taking over. "Kato's left lung is still collapsed from this! Mai's radius is shattered! Naoki's liver is obliterated! He's in surgery now having it replaced! Iruka-sensei was almost killed by a mine!"

Every sentence was an accusation. He deserved it. It had been his decision to send the two teams through that area.

"It gets worse," Sakura sighed, flopping down into a chair across from him. "Mai's eyes."

Kakashi's heart sank even further. "She has it?"

"Iruka-sensei said she used it to save him."

"Does Yamato know yet?"

"Yes. He's at the hospital taking care of the paperwork for their treatments. Mai is confused and scared. I need you to come talk to her so that Yamato and I can focus on the boys. Just this once take the time for personal needs and let someone else run the office. Please?"

"I need to call another meeting on this," Kakashi replied, picking up the fragments. "I've been pushing for new armor. The whole reason I sent them was to capture the devices they use to launch these 'bullets' at us. Maybe now that our kids are hurt they'll understand the need a bit more."

"Mai needs her dad more right now!" Sakura stood back up, yelling again. "You're the only one who can explain what she's experiencing! The meeting can wait until after she understands she's not the only one!"

"I'm not her father," Kakashi reminded.

"She thinks you are," Sakura countered. "I had hoped it would never happen, that she would never know."

"Sit down, Sakura."

She didn't like the tone in Kakashi's voice. It meant he'd gone behind her back on something he knew she hated... again.

"Do you remember Shion of Demon country?" Kakashi asked once she complied with his order to sit. "Remember how her subordinate transformed himself into her in order to protect her?"

"Yes... even the DNA was altered by the technique." Sakura looked at him, curiously.

"Then you'll believe me when I say Sasuke is not Mai's father?" he asked hopefully.

"He's been dead fourteen years," Sakura stood back up. "Dead by your and Yamato's hands. You told Mai he was her father. I believe he is her father, even if that night was out of character for him. So, unless you can prove to me Sasuke is alive and wasn't the one who did that... Shut up. Don't say anything else."

"Go to the hospital's psychiatric ward. Find the room guarded by ANBU. There should only be one right now... When the DNA of the impostor was changed... he was able to pass on the right genetic markers to create the Sharingan in his child, it seems... That or the impostor really was an Uchiha to begin with."

"Those are very hard to come by, Kakashi, as are people who know the techniques of the priests of Demon Country." Sakura stood. "There is only one way to determine if the man in the hospital is our Sasuke. Memories."

"Memories that are at least fourteen years old," Kakashi reminded. "I asked a lot of questions. He passed most of my tests. The questions about the early years seemed to be as fuzzy as expected."

"He can still be a fake, Kakashi!"

"He could still be the real one," Kakashi countered. "I did send him on a long term mission the day before that night. I left it up to him when he left. I also asked him to find a way to mask his disappearance. If he knew about the technique used in Demon Country, he could have asked someone to perform it."

"Please don't do this to me!"

"Don't do this to yourself!" Kakashi stood up and yelled at her. "Wouldn't it be better to find out Sasuke is innocent? That Yamato and I did not kill him? Murder him? That Mai can meet the man she believes is her father, that DNA even supports as her father? Don't you think he deserves to know?"

"If you're so sure its him, why is he being held on the psych ward?"

Kakashi sat back down, "Because he's been away on a deep cover mission for over a decade. He's re-adjusting and I want either you, Yamato, or myself to tell him about the children. He has to be broken into the idea slowly."

"He's not really Sasuke. He can't be. This man has to be a fake."

"Trust me, Sakura. He's not."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"Another apple?"

Sakura lifted the bright red fruits of her labor in a window box garden from the basket in her hand. "Actually, a soup tomato."

"Been a long time since I've had a tomato," the man in the hospital bed admitted. "I'm glad you remembered my favorite. They don't grow in Iron Country, and they're expensive to have imported there."

"Prove to me you're Sasuke."

"I'd tell you to test my blood, but Kakashi already told me there was an incident the day after I left," he answered. "Can I have that tomato?"

She tossed it up and caught it before he could reach out. "Why were you gone so long?"

"Something big was brewing in Iron country. I had to gather as much information as possible, and I had to steer them away from attacking us as a test for their plans. I can't say more to you without permission."

His eyes followed the tomato she juggled between her hands the whole time. "Do you remember sleeping with me the second time?"

"There was no second time," he answered, squinting at her. "After the first... you pushed me away... said you didn't feel that way about me anymore."

"That's right," Sakura nodded. "I guess Kakashi was telling me the truth. You are Sasuke... but... who took your place that day?"

"A man I met years before. His great-grandfather was an Uchiha. I made a mistake trusting him."

"Yes," she agreed, "a very big one. I thought... All these years I thought you'd snapped again. I thought you were murdered by Yamato and Kakashi for it. I thought Mai was your daughter. Now I know she's not, and I still don't know who her father is, but that doesn't change the fact she has the Sharingan. Now she'll be even more confused about everything. She only just found out two years ago that Kakashi isn't her father like Kato."

"Who?" Sasuke asked. "Wait. You slept with Kakashi?"

"And Yamato," she sat down, still rolling around the apple sized tomato thoughtfully. "Kakashi and I have pretty much called things off since Yamato proposed. The wedding is next month. I... I just found out last week I'm pregnant again. I know, I didn't think it was possible at this point either, but it seems so. Yamato knows, but Kakashi and the kids don't know yet. After all, they just turned fifteen two months ago. It's a big age difference. I think Naoki will be happy to be a big brother. The timing definitely means it's Yamato's."

"Sakura," Sasuke interrupted, "If you're going to go on a long winded explanation about these past few years of your life... could I have the tomato to eat while you do? The hospital food is too... sweet for my taste today."

"You really are him," she smiled, handing the tomato to him and then fleeing the room.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Truth be told, the whole reason Kakashi didn't want to go see Mai was because he was scared of seeing Naoki and Kato. Mai would be easy to look at, and he could potentially lie to the girl about her eyes. Seeing Kato on a ventilator would be hell. Not knowing if Naoki would make it out of surgery, just one floor away, would be nerve wracking.

For all the pestering, screaming, foul smells, and messes he'd put up with over these children, Kakashi loved them all. Each one was irreplaceable. If the truth would cost the love and respect Mai held for him, a hole would be ripped in his heart. As it was, knowing about the boys was already gripping his nerves like a vise. Just walking into the hospital doors sent a wave of nausea through his system.

By the time he made it to Kato's room in ICU, Mai was being released from her own minor surgery, a soft cast and sling holding her arm. She had several bruises still, but those would heal on their own without a problem, he thought as he watched her walk into the ICU towards him.

"Mom went back into the surgery observation with Papa," Mai said before Kakashi could ask. "She said I shouldn't be there, that I needed to keep you and Kato company."

Kakashi nodded, gathering his strength to speak with the thirteen-year-old girl. It would be easier than continuing to watch the mechanical rise and fall of Kato's chest.

"You know," he started, inviting her to sit in the window ledge with him, "you're the same age I was when I received the Sharingan."

"Dad, I know it wasn't originally yours," she sighed. "You're actually in the history books now, and Naruto-sensei talks about when he was our age a lot."

Well, that alleviated at least some of the weight on his chest. "How often does he speak of Uchiha Sasuke?"

"Every now and then, but he always gets sad."

"Do you know that the Uchiha are the originators of the Sharingan?"

"Again... history books and Naruto-sensei." she rolled her eyes.

"Then," he took a breath, letting it out slowly to try and relax a bit, "you probably know your natural father was an Uchiha."

She nodded. "The way Iruka-sensei looked at me was sad. He said he hoped I didn't turn out like Uchiha Sasuke. I'm guessing since he was the guy Iruka-sensei said my mom used to chase after, he's the one?"

Kakashi nodded. "She was angry with herself for a long time after being with him, especially when she found out she was pregnant... But since she had Yamato and me, the baby wasn't necessarily his. Only her mother said it could be possible to have multiples by different fathers. When you three were born, it was clear to us who was whose. We chose to pass you off as mine since so few people know what I look like under this mask."

She nodded again, and he could see the hesitation and fear building up before she choked out a question, "Can I still call you my Dad?"

"I hope you do," he patted the girl on her shoulder.

"Do I have to learn how to use this curse of a dojutsu?" she asked, a bit pensively.

"Only if you want to," he answered. "I don't advise taking it much farther, but you can use it either as I did for the longest time, or you can use it to be more like your mother. It can be used for good even if it is negative emotion that caused it to awaken in the first place."

"I can? It doesn't have to be a weapon?"

Kakashi nodded again. "Never."

Mai wrapped her good arm around him, smiling and crying like the emotional teenager she was, "Thank you Daddy!"

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Haruno Kato's chest ached, his throat was tight, he couldn't speak, he couldn't even control his own breath. It was dark in the room, but he could hear the whirr and beep of machinery by his head. His heart raced. Did the enemy have him? Were they keeping him alive for interrogation?

The beeping became faster, matching his racing heartbeats, and then a hand gently touched his shoulder. It was a big hand, firm, but gentle. A light near the bed he was in switched on, revealing a welcome face... well more like lack of face. After all, Kakashi still did not take off his mask despite being Hokage now.

"Let the machine breathe for you for now," Kato heard his father speak. "I'll see about getting someone to take it out... if they say you're strong enough."

Kakashi could see the questions in Kato's eyes, and he could guess a few. "Your mother is with Naoki in recovery. He was very lucky they had a liver that matched his blood type on hand. Yamato took Mai home for the night. You're back in Konoha. You're safe."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--

"So, I hear you're not my father after all."

"Correct," Sasuke answered the girl standing in the doorway of his hospital room. "But it doesn't matter. You've had two good dads your whole life."

"Doesn't change the fact that they've done nothing but lie to me about my father. I still don't know."

"I don't know the details either, but I did know your father for a short time. He was good at heart, but... misunderstood the relationship your mother and I had. He hurt her. He hurt her and your dads killed him for it, believing it was me... so they were personal about it. Nobody else knows except for your mother."

"How do you know?" Mai asked, walking into the room to sit on the window sill. She was never comfortable in the chairs or on the beds.

"Your mother gave me the details yesterday."

"What happens when people start calling you my father? Will you lie and tell them you are?"

"Is that what you want?"

She looked at him, cautious and unsure. "I don't know. I don't know you."

"It's going to happen, eventually."

"I know."

Sasuke approached her and joined her in sitting on the ledge. "You mostly look like your mother, but there are some definitely Uchiha touches there. I hear you have activated our signature kekke genkai."

"Kakashi-tou-san has taught me some of the techniques."

Sasuke frowned at that. "After everything that happened over it, he actually encouraged you?"

"Mostly defensive techniques," Mai held up her hands in defense of Kakashi. "He's warned me about what can happen... and I know he's partially blind from using it so long himself. I've only used it twice outside of training myself."

"Good. The more you can do without it, the better."

"But... what do we say if anybody calls you my father now?"

Sasuke smiled. She remembered. Sure, he hadn't knocked her off track for very long, but it was a promising sign of her intelligence. "I'm not your father. I'm not your dad. We are related. We could become friends in the future."

"Sounds good to me."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Tetsu no Kuni. That was where the guns were coming from. The iron workers were now making as many rifles and handguns as they were blades for the Samurai. It seemed that along with the new weapons came the breaking of the neutrality all the Shinobi nations shared with the Samurai.

Now that their numbers were bolstered not only by foreign troops, but this long range weapon. It could reach out as far, if not farther than, the longest range jutsu in history. Those who escaped the bullets and got close enough for normal fighting between re-loading would be cut down by the sword.

Now that they had stolen enough examples of the weapons, the shinobi nations were building their own versions. These were smaller, more able to be held by one hand, easier to conceal, and quicker to re-load.

The foreigners sent more men.


	14. The Light And The Dark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> more reffs to non-con
> 
> Major character deaths.

The massive stab wound he'd received from Obito during their fight had scarred badly. When Sakura found him, she had to work so fast to keep him alive that she couldn't bother with smoothing things out. The resulting scars required regular treatments since then to keep his heart, lungs, esophagus, bronchia, and spine from locking up tight. Now, years later, he only had to visit her once every six months to monitor the damage and make further repairs. She had worked on him for cosmetics alone on most of it for the past two years. His spine, however, still gave him occasional fits.

So, when he missed this last appointment, Sakura sent in the best weapons at her disposal to bring him over for dinner. Naoki, Mai, and Kato were off with Naruto on a guard mission. Ogawa had gone with Yamato back to River Country to test the waters. That left Sakura alone with baby Suzume in a big, quiet, empty house.

Her mind made up that she couldn't stay there a third night with just the baby, Sakura packed an overnight bag for her daughter, slipping in a change of clothes for herself, and marched to Kakashi's house across town, also bringing groceries to cook for dinner. She knew he wouldn't be able to refuse the baked sanma and eggplant over noodles and salty red-bean miso soup she had planned. Not only that, but she had his tastes in mind for dessert, too, bringing along tart cherries and strawberries. For him, she had plain yogurt to add the fruit to. For herself, she planned on cutting it up and soaking them in whipped cream. Suzume would get small bites of everything. There wasn't anything they had given her she hadn't gobbled right up.

As her mind rambled on without her, Sakura forgot to knock and just let herself inside his kitchen door and set to work. Putting the baby on the floor in the next room-the sun room that once was a dojo many many years ago-Sakura surveyed his cupboards, remembering his organization preferences. She would just stick things where they fit. He actually had a pre-set place for everything.

By the time the fish were de-boned, eggplant sliced thin, noodles boiled, and the whole dish packed into a baking pan with herbs and sauce placed on top to bake in, she was starting to feel better about her decision to visit. Kakashi knew she was there the moment she'd walked through the gate. Either a ward he'd tagged with chakra was set on the gate, an ANBU he might have tailing her while her family was away, or a passer-by had sent word to him at the Hokage Tower. He, in turn, had sent the pack to both determine the reason for her visit and keep her company until he could leave the office for the day.

When he got home, it was to the sight of Suzume riding on his mastiff's back, supervised by the akita inu, and to the view of a woman in his dining room lighting candles on the table. He dreaded the disaster zone in the kitchen, but decided that could be fixed later.

"Hope you don't mind," she flashed a smile at him. "I was lonely and thought you could use a good dinner."

"It smells wonderful," he told her. "I'm glad you came. It's been too quiet around here, too."

"I thought you liked your peace and quiet," she mentioned, putting the kitchen matches back in the drawer where she found them in a hutch.

He nodded. "I do... but I miss the days when the others were her age sometimes... when they weren't so complicated."

"When they were dependent and wanted nothing more than a back-rub to help them sleep," she said knowingly. "You know, there are times when they come home to visit and I wonder where the years have gone. It seems like just last week Kato was starting to teethe. He got all his teeth so early!"

Her mention of his son pulled at his heart a bit. He still lived with them back then. This place was in shambles both from time unused and the shock waves from previous battles. When he had Yamato planed for Yamato to propose to Sakura, he started fixing up the old Hatake house, repurposing the dojo into a sun room, replacing the floor to rid himself of the blood stains that just would not wash out of the old wood. He had tried resurfacing it at first, then painting over it, even putting carpet with extra thick padding over the spot, but the old stain still bled through as if some supernatural force required it to be there forever. When even replacing the wood itself did nothing to stop the stain, he'd called on Sai to paint the floor and incorporate the unmistakable stain into something beautiful instead. The result was a mural of orchids and dragonflies, oversized and spanning the whole floor.

Oddly, the stain vanished after that, and Kakashi asked Sai to fill in the spot appropriately. Now it was a room he actually showed off to visitors and enjoyed spending time in both day and night.

"I'm taking tomorrow off," he mentioned, peeking into the kitchen to see three of his dogs standing on one another in an attempt to reach a serving bowl. "Get away you idiots!"

The three tumbled over one another and lowered their tails guiltily.

"That's probably hot," he told them, marching over to push the bowl back. "I don't want it spilling on you or the baby."

"But, boss, she's hungry!" the smallest said. "She's trying to eat my ears!"

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Aburame Shino was twenty-eight-years-old, head of his clan, father of two, a boy and a girl. Because his wife was also a head of clan, each of their children received a different surname. The elders' intent was to have the two clans remain separate, have separate heirs, but continue the good relations, as always. This was easily accepted by both sides of the issue. It would be easier on the two groups than trying to integrate since integration would mean moving one family to the other's, or, perhaps, both families to a new location as per the laws set down by the Second Hokage.

Shino was also terminally ill. Despite all the advances in medicine, and all the ways the medic-nin had to correct even the microscopic disturbances, there were still certain sicknesses nobody could heal. Someone he fought against had a blood disease. His bugs brought the pathogen into his system when he called them back.

He couldn't even kiss his wife's hand without her having to wash it off right away. Her fingers always had at least one little nick where the disease might find purchase. Any bodily fluid transmission was off limits, so he had his own bathroom, washed his own dishes every time he ate. He wore a white medical mask to keep from coughing and sneezing on others. He even slept apart from his wife just because she often wanted sex during the night, and they had no sex without kissing.

Aburame Shino was just barely thirty-years old when he died in the hospital from this illness.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Stuck in a hospital bed was not a place Kakashi liked to be. He was stuck in them far too often for liking and for far too long for pleasure. If he didn't care so much about his team mates, he probably would have less of these depressing visits.

Right now, he just wanted to bring up his hands and wrap them around his bedmate. He wanted to hold her, tell her he could feel her silent sobs, her tears soaking his chest, and that he was sorry. He had promised never to use Obito's eye again, and he had broken that promise.

It nearly cost him his life.

She wasn't even allowed in the operating room due to their current relationship.

"I stayed right by the door the whole time," she whispered in his ear. "I could hear when you flatlined... five times! You bastard. You promised me... Look what it got you!"

He would have kissed her temple and told her he was sorry over and over again if he could. He just wanted to hold her and tell her he loved her, but he just couldn't get even one finger to move.

"Some days," she continued talking softly in his ear, "it seems like you're the only one who loves me anymore. Yamato is never home. The triplets are out on their own, visiting Naruto at least once a week when they barely come home once a month. Suzume is always in school or at a friend's house. You're the only one who seems to have time for me, who will sit and talk or share a meal. Yamato doesn't even hold me at night anymore.

"I realize everything I've said is all selfishness, but you're a selfish man. You understand. I just wish you could talk, could hold me like you did before you left."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The first time Haruno Naoki saw his sister wearing a necklace was also the first time Uzumaki Kenta received a broken nose. Naoki didn't approve of Kenta's advances towards his sister, and neither did his brother.

Kato walked up behind the blond boy the next time they saw him on the way to school. He set his hand on the back of Kenta's neck and gave him a burst of electrically charged chakra, momentarily paralyzing the unsuspecting boy. Naoki used the opening to simply flick Kenta on the nose, crushing it.

"Hands off our sister," Naoki commanded as their momentary prisoner's eyes began to water.

"She's better than you." Kato shoved him forward. "Got it?"

"Get off of him!" a girl shrieked from behind. It was Mai, and she was sprinting up to them, the beaded necklace swaying around her neck with each step. "How dare you two bully my boyfriend!"

"Boyfriend?" Kato questioned, looking back at the watery eyes of his victim. "He's too weak to be your boyfriend."

Mai's fist crushed his jaw. "You have anything else to say, Naoki?"

Naoki looked over his brother, then wisely shook his head and ran away. For as much as he could use his little finger to shatter a bone, and for as much as Kato could drill a precise hole through any body part with electricity, Mai could screech so damn loud she'd make your ear-drums bleed... and Mom would hear her...and she always took her daughter's side.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

One week before the end of the Chunin exams the academy hosted a dance for all shinobi fourteen and older. They could come alone, with another ninja, or bring a civilian as their date. For the most part, civilians staid away. They knew that impromptu contests could break out, and there had been instances where a civilian had been mistaken for a rival. Trouble followed, though usually only pride was harmed.

This was Haruno Suzume's first time attending. Although she had been old enough two years earlier, she had been away on missions both previous years. This year, she didn't really feel like going since she had to train hard right now. Her early rank as a Jonin meant they also wanted to see about moving her farther up the line soon. Her father had made sure she was not promoted to Chunin until she was nine, and then he pushed back her appointment to Jonin three more years despite her captain's consistent nagging.

Unknown to anyone in her family except her father, Suzume would be testing for ANBU next month.

That was why the man insisted she go out and have fun tonight. Her sister took her out shopping for make up and a dress. She'd never worn either in her whole life... at least not to her memory.

"This is the mineral powder we'll use as a base," Mai told her, rubbing a plush brush in the creamy substance. "You don't need concealer or anything heavy since you've got pretty skin anyway."

The moment the bristles touched Suzume's face, little grains flew through the air like dust. Suzume sneezed, spraying Mai in the face with snot.

"Maybe the cream base would work better," Mai said, nose wrinkled and body frozen.

"Sorry, nee-san," she said, really embarrassed.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

This time, more than ever before, she wished Kakashi wouldn't be late.

She was out of chakra, only enough left to keep her conscious as the enemy closed in on her position. She could see Sai. He was three yards away to her left, still clawing at the ground, trying to pull himself towards his ink and paper. She wondered if he knew he didn't have anything left below the sternum. He would be gone once enough blood drained away. Gods knew he didn't have any oxygen being pumped into his brain anymore.

Where was Kakashi with the back-up team?

More importantly... why were they pulling her flack jacket off? She wished she could hear them speaking, but the explosion that destroyed her team mate's body had also punctured her ear-drums. She could feel the blood slowly seeping out. If only she could turn her head to look at them, she might be able to lip-read some of their words, but a piece of metal had lodged into her neck, kinking up her spine. If she tried to move her head, it might sever her spinal chord.

Did it really matter what they were saying now? She knew exactly what was happening when they yanked off her shorts. Sick bastards.

With a frown, Sakura focused on Sai's now still form, and twisted her neck sharply to the right... and neither felt nor saw anymore.

Kakashi was too late.


	15. Alone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kakashi and Yamato deal with Sakura's death in similar, yet different ways. Finally, at long last, they're by each other's side again.

Kakashi was pointedly bound to a chair with as many chakra strings, wires, and ropes as the ANBU operatives Cat, Snake, and the new, young Hokage could put on him.

"You're not medically cleared for missions again, Kaka-sensei," Naruto pointed out. "So, until we bring her and Sai home, you'll just have to hold down the village until I get back. You already did my job for nineteen years, so what's a couple more days?"

He didn't tell any of them that he had been arguing with Sakura the day she and Sai had left for their mission. He didn't tell them that she was currently hiding a miracle... and a transgression. They went without him, and their efforts to keep him home cost the lives of their friends.

Based on the autopsy reports, Kakashi knew Sakura and Sai had both died in agony.

And the miracle was discovered... never to open it's eyes to the light of day. The little baby boy would never have a single birthday, and it was all their fault.

That had to be it.

She wasn't showing when she left, but her corpse was. Perhaps they knew and didn't think he knew? Maybe they thought it would distract him? It didn't matter, though. Had they gotten there seconds sooner, she would be alive. He would be explaining away how they'd fallen back into bed with one another just the once to her husband, not standing beside him and breaking the news to Mai, Naoki, Kato, Ogawa, and Suzume.

He wouldn't itch to punch the hell out of Naruto and Sasuke. He wouldn't feel like he deserved to be murdered by Yamato. Facing his oddly patched together family, his insides knotted up, and he lost the fight to keep the tears from falling. He sank to his knees and begged forgiveness of Sakura's children for not being fast enough to save her life.

Had he just been fast enough to escape the bindings, he might have been able to get there quick enough. Naruto had started another fight with Sasuke; Yamato had to break it up, costing them precious time none of them knew they needed. If they hadn't stopped... If they hadn't forced him to stay behind...

His throat cinched up, his voice cracked, his hands shook, and he gasped for air, trying not to puke all over the entry-way. Every fiber of his being was weakening under the strain. He just needed them to forgive him.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Initially, when he, Sasuke, and Naruto had arrived on the scene, Yamato had seen Sai's split body. He was disgusted, and a bit scared. Sai was at the top of the official ANBU organization these days, just under Yamato and Kakashi by seniority alone. If he could be so completely torn apart...?

Naruto had went straight after an unsuspecting man that was rummaging through Sai's belongings. He created such a scene that at least eight enemies tried piling on top of him. Sasuke stayed with Naruto, picking the toughest individuals for himself while Naruto took on the bulk of the work. It was Yamato that saw the only actual shinobi among their enemies bolt. He trapped the man after a long fight. Both of them were breathless and bloody by the time Sasuke and Naruto caught up to them.

He held it together when they found her stripped, bruised, bloody body near the stream, neck broken. They were in enemy territory, and could be set upon again quickly. Sasuke kept Naruto from killing one of the men who admitted to using her dead body for his wants. While they struggled, Yamato walked up and shoved a kunai in the man's eye, ending any more comments from the prisoners as he walked back to Sakura's body and sat down by her lifeless form again.

He held it together the whole way home, forcing the prisoners to carry the bodies of his friend and his wife all the way to the morgue in the hospital before taking them underground to be interrogated later.

He held it together through breaking the news to Kakashi, and through telling their children.

He just wasn't sure how to handle this.

It wasn't the first time he'd woken up in their bed alone. Despite the fact that she stayed in the village and worked at the hospital while the children were very young, she had decided to start taking missions again once they were in school. As the kids got older, she took on higher and higher ranked missions, some of them keeping her away for days on end.

He worried every time, but reminded himself that she was probably stronger than he was and would be home on time. She never missed a deadline.

When they got the letter stating that there was extra trouble and it would take longer than expected to make the rendezvous, he knew he had to be on the team to retrieve her. After all, he suspected she was holding a secret from him... one that could have kept her from taking this mission. His suspicions were confirmed when he saw her body by the stream.

He beat himself up the whole way home. He should have went to Kakashi and made his suspicions known before she left.

It didn't matter now.

Now he was staring at her pillow from the rocking chair in the corner of their bedroom. He had sat in the chair the night before, and he fell asleep going through photos of their large, awkward family.

Right now is when the tears fell onto his cheeks. Right now is when he felt all the joy sucked out of his soul. Right now, knowing he would never wake up with her ever again, he wanted to just end.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

He knew those sounds. It had been a while since he was involved in making them, but he knew them. There was a time the moans and whimpers would have been his lullaby, heard from a dorm room in the ANBU underground training facility through the wall or a ventilation shaft. Eventually there would be some shouting, but by the sound of things, Yamato was taking it slow... savoring every second.

On the other side of that door was a world of pain and anger being unleashed on one of the two men responsible for Haruno Sakura's death. The whimpers and moans of the bastard should have his friend in the next room sweating by now. Smiling sadistically behind his recently re-squired ANBU Wolf mask, Kakashi opened the second door.

These two bastards would wish Sakura had been able to pound them to death.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Kakashi had lived alone most of his life. Even when friends asked him to join them on outings, he usually had refused them. After the war, however, he made an effort to be more sociable. He came to the weekly gatherings that shifted from location to location. He spent more time with his team outside of work and training. He actually put some effort into the challenges Gai came up with, talked with Naruto about Minato, told Sasuke more about Obito, commiserated with Itachi, and helped Yamato try to track down his sister. He posed with the rest of the team for Sai to paint them; Sai was doing this for all the people who made it through the war.

Slowly, he started to understand why he generally found himself staying at Sakura's apartment in the evenings, timing his grocery shopping and other errands to coincide with hers, and making other excuses to see her, like extra taijutsu training. He loved her. She had traits of Rin and Kushina that he liked, but she was also uniquely Sakura. She took great care in tending his battle wounds, offered to be there for him emotionally should he need it, and found little ways to show everyone she cared.

She bought Naruto more clothes than he'd ever had before. It was only two more sets of pants, three shirts, and some underwear, but Naruto was so happy he almost cracked her spine when hugging her in thanks.

She encouraged Sai to start using color in his paintings, going as far as to buy him more canvases to practice on, and a muted palate of paints to start with. It was the first time ever Kakashi remembered seeing Sai reach out to hug someone instead of reacting to a hug someone gave him.

To Sasuke she gave a starter kit for tomato growing. His only reply was a small smile and, "You remembered."

For Yamato, Sakura bought him architecture books from around the world, telling him to study up and show her what he could do with it. He eagerly accepted the challenge. He promised to build her a house one day and use inspiration from all the books.

Kakashi, however, received her shoulder, her laugh, and her trust. Obito may not have had much time with her, but he had enough time to tell her about Kakashi's past. She had made it her mission to slowly break him in to having someone around, to having consistent company, to being secure enough in the thought that people he loved weren't cursed by his affections. He could love again. He could love his friends. He didn't have to keep everyone at arm's length.

So, when she gave him a small kiss on the cheek after a long hug one night, he wondered if it was an invitation. The next night, though, he could see her pressed up against her front door, arms wrapped around Yamato as he explored her mouth with his. Perhaps her affection for Kakashi was only platonic?

He bought her shoes, paid for meals, and did his best to convey his tentative wants to her through staying close all the time. Sakura didn't let Yamato inside that night, but she did invite him to the breakfast Kakashi had offered.

At first, Kakashi was pissed that the other man was there, already more intimate with Sakura than he was. The stab of loneliness was sharp in his chest when Sakura grasped Yamato's hand in greeting. Then she kissed Kakashi's cheek again, just above the mask this time. That was the day they all came to terms with the relationship they would have from then on.

He didn't expect it, but Kakashi found himself drawn to Yamato as well as their little triangle progressed. He wasn't interested in having sex with the man, but he did love him almost as deeply as he loved Sakura. He had a comfortable relationship with him, Kakashi thought.

Five years after the kids were born, Tsunade handed over the title of Hokage to him. He missed the children all the time, being stuck in the office. Considering he was Sakura's and Yamato's boss now, things started getting tenser at home, too. Both inside and outside the village, his basically polyamorous relationship was called into question many times. He wasn't seen as responsible enough to settle down and have a real family. The extra drama at home could compromise his ability to lead.

He and Yamato talked it over. Outwardly, Sakura would marry Yamato. She would be faithful. Kakashi would have to move out, go to his childhood home which was mercifully left intact other than the damage done through time left vacant. Sakura would still visit him. He would still visit them. He would still have time with his son and the other kids. He wouldn't always be alone.

It still meant plenty of lonely nights for him. Sakura only came to stay with him when Yamato was away. After a while, she stopped making-love to him, too. By the time two years had passed, she had told him that she would be loyal to hr husband.

There came a time when Yamato stopped paying her as much attention as she needed, though. Sakura learned what it meant to be lonely. Kakashi kept his distance, though. He hoped the two would fall back in-love with one another.

Then came the attack.

It always happened at least once every year or two. Someone would try to take down a kage. This time it was Kakashi's turn. He was signing the papers for Sarutobi Konohamaru to take some time off, the man's wife was almost ready to give birth. Said wife was in the room at the time, and the attackers went straight for her, intending to use her as a hostage. It didn't work.

The attackers were defeated, but Kakashi ended up near death anyway. He had used Obito's eye again, this time to quickly banish the idiot holding a knife to the pregnant woman's belly. Konohamaru was trying to get to her, but there were far too many people in the enclosed space for him do do so safely.

The things Sakura said when he was recovering... It seemed Yamato had left her far more lonely than Kakashi believed. He made it a point then, that when he got out of the hospital, he would hold her. He would love her again. He would tell her the things she needed to hear, touch her the way she needed to be touched. He would also tell her husband to straighten his act up with her. Sakura was ready to leave him.

Two months later, he heard her complain about her period being late. They hadn't been together in over a month, but she still wasn't with Yamato in any way but name yet. Kakashi brushed it off. That happened sometimes. She was probably going through menopause.

That same week, he gave up his position as Hokage, handing the mantle to Naruto. Two months after that, Sakura was dead, an unborn child inside her body had died from lack of oxygen as well. Blood testing showed it to be Kakashi's. At first, the news caused a fist fight between Yamato and Kakashi. They avoided one another for almost a week after.

The loneliness was eating away at him again. He knew Yamato was supposed to be working the whole night, so he decided to break in through the bedroom window and curl up in Sakura's spot on the bed. Yamato found him there, and let him stay. It seemed they both were ready to let go of anger. Though he stayed a few days, Kakashi understood he had to go home again. People were starting to talk as if it was Yamato, and not Sakura, that Kakashi had been lovers with.

Being alone really was his lot in life.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

There was a night Yamato came home to find his bed less empty than he'd come to expect.

Sometimes his daughter, Suzume, would curl up with him in the wee hours of morning, scared of the nightmares she still had about loosing her mother. He didn't care that the girl was now almost eight-years-old-he was already active on A and S rank missions by then-and crawling into bed with him like she was still three. It was a comfort just to have someone to curl up with and share familiar affection.

This presence was much bigger, and smelled far more masculine... dirty even. His little girl never let herself go to bed without a bath. None of Sakura's children would sleep in a real bed while dirty. It was ingrained in them from the day they were born that a real bed is something to be cherished.

He flicked on the light, exposing the half-dressed ex-Hokage curled up around Sakura's old pillow.

"Turn it off," Kakashi moaned softly. "Just let me hold her."

Yamato walked over and sat by his side, looking at the weathered face only four-years his senior. "If you want some of her things, I understand... That doesn't mean you can sleep in my bed."

"I don't want her things," Kakashi said, curling around the pillow more tightly, trying to hide the fact that he was crying. "I... I know she loved you more than me, but... I loved her so much... Please forgive me, Tenzou. I loved her so much!"

He put a hand on the man's shoulder, giving him a gentle squeeze. "She loved you a lot, too... Or else she wouldn't have been with you so much after marrying me."

He looked up, nervousness written all over his face. "Only when you were gone on long missions. Only when she couldn't handle being alone any more. I... I only sought her out a couple times on my own. I tried to be fair to you."

Yamato shook his head, "You gave her a reprieve from me. I was gone a lot... and when I was home all I wanted was to spend time with Suzume. I knew she was sleeping with you while I was gone... It was the original agreement, but it still hurt. I let her down, Kakashi. I ignored her when I was home."

They were quiet for a while, neither of them expecting to have admitted so much. Kakashi closed his eyes and curled back up in Sakura's side of the bed. Yamato, oddly, found himself pulling off his outer shirt and lying down as well, facing his long-time team mate, tormentor, and friend with a soft sigh.

"Is this alright?" he asked. "I can sleep in Suzume's bed if you don't want me here."

"What about Suzume?" Kakashi asked, eyes still closed and somewhat more relaxed.

"She is staying with Kato and Naoki for the week. Next week Mai and Kenta asked to have her a few days."

"You're alone, in other words, for two weeks."

"Yes."

They were both quiet again for several breaths. It was Kakashi who spoke first, again.

"Can we pretend it's twenty years ago; this house is still that pitiful shed it was when we found this piece of land, and we're still crammed on that small bed? Can we pretend she's just out at the bath house late with some friends, and we decided to go to sleep without her?"

"Sounds good to me," came the hoped for response.


	16. Beginnings and Endings

Sasuke froze. There on the buffet table before him was a typical assortment of fruit and vegetables and both store-bought and home-made dips. As he reached for the small cherry tomatoes, a guy on the other side of the table decided he should also have a few slices of apple.

He stood, transfixed on the fruit. He tried to remember why it was so important.

"Sasuke-sama? What is it?"

He looked up into the emerald eyes of Haruno Kato. Everything clicked.

Sakura always brought him apples and sliced them by hand when she knew he was feeling down. Her expression was always the same one Kato was giving him now.

Only a month ago he, Yamato, and Naruto had found her dead. Despite the grieving many were still doing, Haruno Mai and Uzumaki Kenta had decided to go ahead with their wedding on schedule. It was the pick-me-up a lot of people needed. It was the reminder that life had to continue. It got especially good when the groom was cornered by Kakashi and Yamato both and made to promise to take excellent care of their little girl and Sasuke had to come to the young man's defense right before everyone's eyes.

Of course, unknown to everyone but the bride, the whole thing was an act they'd planned the night before. Some of the threats were meant, but they all knew nobody was likely to need to follow through.

"Just... remembering," he answered, setting the paper buffet plate down and walking away. He wasn't prepared for all of this, no matter how much he'd pretended everything had gone back to normal. Suddenly, he wasn't so hungry anymore.

Sasuke glanced at the main table to the bride, her soft pink hair had emeralds and rubies strung into her long, thick braid, shimmering and complementing her natural beauty as she smiled and taunted her other brother, Naoki. She looked happy in every possible way. The empty seat beside her, her mother's photo on the table as a place-holder spoke volumes otherwise.

It took yet another slice of his heart when he realized Mai was avoiding looking at the empty chair and her mother's photo. He wanted to push her to look at it, to have a moment of open unhappiness on this sunny day for her mother's sake...

"Sakura would be happy to see everyone is happy and keeping the day about Mai and Kenta."

Sasuke looked to his left, seeing Nara Shikamaru sitting on the park's swing set and holding a empty champaign flute. "She would."

"Rumor has it Sakura was keeping a secret from everyone," Shikamaru continued, approaching Sasuke, eyes piercing. "Is it true the baby was yours?"

"I never touched her," Sasuke snapped. "I don't know why anyone would think it wasn't Yamato's."

"The fact that two of her children aren't his," Shikamaru stated the obvious. "One of them is yours. Why not this one, too?"

Sasuke frowned, then remembered. Although nobody had encouraged people to believe he was Mai's father, nobody actively stated he wasn't. It seemed several people still believed he was her father after all.

"You forget that she slept with Kakashi multiple times even after marrying Yamato-senpai."

"Which was the other rumor," Shikamaru shrugged. "Thanks."

"For what?"

"Telling the truth. Now I don't have to worry about another rampage from you over dead family members."

Sasuke punched him.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The title of Hokage had been handed on to Uzumaki Naruto months ago. The plan had always been to do so. Most believed it should have happened sooner, but, in reality, it was Naruto who asked for it to wait a few years. He enjoyed the time he had with his family. He enjoyed the freedom Kakashi missed. Now that both his sons were grown he was ready.

Kakashi was almost eager to give away the title and live the rest of his days in retirement at the large house he once called home years ago. Yamato and Suzume welcomed him with open arms. He would have as much peace and quiet as he could stand. On the occasions he wanted company, he could find it. The kids could visit whenever they pleased. He could join Yamato in giving Mai advice about when her mother was pregnant, as Mai was now.

It was around this time that they learned Kakashi had a heart condition.

Decades of fieldwork equaled decades of experience to dream about at night. Many of those dreams were nightmares. With his training and conditioning, he never fully fell asleep, often acted out his dreams to the point of accessing his naturally electrically charged chakra. Doing this often sent shocks into his system instead of out of it. His heart was damaged physically from these episodes. Without Sakura to monitor and make minor repairs, the damage slowly got worse, slowly enough that the few times he did visit a doctor, it wasn't caught in time.

Three years later, he was walking with Mai and her children on their way home from grocery shopping. It felt like a regular spasm, one that the pills could help. When the pills didn't help, Mai talked him into turning around, going to the hospital. They were within sight when the unbearable pain struck. It hit so hard and fast that he stumbled over his own feet, knocking her and her eldest daughter to the ground with him as he struggled for relief.

Someone saw, ran ahead for help. It was too late already. He was unconscious. Mai couldn't wake him. The doctors couldn't bring him out of it, either.

That afternoon, two hours before sunset, Hatake Kakashi was pronounced dead. He was fifty-eight years old.

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The air itself was charged with so much static electricity that anyone standing within an inch of one another got a small zap. The display of extreme control over both emotion and the elements was just as shocking. When all was said and done, they could also understand why the Hokage had not stepped in and broken things up himself.

Sasuke was the only one capable of neutralizing Haruno Kato's attacks. He was the only one with the experience necessary to stop the rampage before it killed the idiot currently laying in the grass.

Only three years and four months ago, Haruno Sakura was buried. Today, Hatake Kakashi's name was added to the memorial only engraved with the names of former Hokage, his body laid to rest a day before. One person made the mistake of saying he was glad the pretender genius was gone out loud. The man had said Kakashi would have been nothing without the Sharingan.

"You ungrateful piece of shit!" Kato yelled, punching the man with an electrically charged fist. "Does that feel fake to you? That's only a small taste of what my father could do! Want more?"

"If all your father could produce was the sting of a mosquito," the man shrugged.

No one understood why the man chose to aggravate Kato like this. Everyone stepped back and let the man get the beating that was coming to him. Worried looks passed around the group when Kato pulled out a tanto and wrapped it in a mixture of white and electrically charged chakra. When he charged with the weapon, Sasuke stepped in and gripped his wrist tightly, sending his own electrically charged burst of chakra into the younger man, halting every bit of progress Kato had made towards his intended target.

"You've made your point," Sasuke said lowly in Kato's ear. "Don't kill him. Don't."

"He attacked my father's honor."

"Your father wouldn't have even touched him over something so small."

"I am not my father. Honor means more than that to me."

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Danzo always said the one requirement he held for ANBU under his command that Sandaime did not was a level of darkness. Sure, many of the ANBU under Sandaime's control grew into a kind of darkness, but Danzo looked for the ones who had it already. He looked for those who either liked killing, or were otherwise indifferent to it. He wanted the ones who had already proven their metal, especially to themselves. He made only two exceptions. One was in the boy he called Kinoe who later became Yamato. The other was in Uchiha Itachi.

Those two needed to be kept close at all costs. Kinoe could reveal Danzo's previous cooperations with Orochimaru. He learned the darkness Danzo wanted with ease, however. Because he was so young, he was easy to sway. Itachi already had the inner turmoil that was the seed of darkness in many. Danzo merely had to put him in the right situations in order for him to naturally embrace the dark doings Root often did. Loosing him was regrettable.

The one he always wanted, however, was Hatake Kakashi. He wanted him a long time before Sandaime suggested Yondaime place him on ANBU duties. He wanted him since before he killed Nohara Rin. The death of Kakashi's father had planted the seeds, and the apparent death of Uchiha Obito flung the Hatake into the opposite direction, allowing him to become just unstable enough to develop a cover personality to hide his true killer instincts.

Kakashi held out on him, though. Obito had gotten through the darkness a little. Rin plagued his dreams every time he used chidori to kill someone. He held too much guilt over them both. Guilt meant he still held some lives as precious. He could be turned to Root's goals with a bit more pushing, but he was too close to both the Yondaime and the Sandaime for Danzo to have much contact, to push the right buttons enough times.

So, when Kakashi was buried, Yamato knew exactly what was happening when the unknown man goaded Kato into striking him. Root was officially disbanded several decades ago, but it simply went deeper into hiding in reality. They still existed, even today, and the damnedest part of it was that Yamato, although officially in-charge of all ANBU operations, could not weed them all out of his men. He recognized many in the beginning, found others out by association, and still others by slip of the tongue. Some of them were just that good at covering up that he didn't recognize them until it was almost too late.

Today, though, he understood that he was already too late.

The man who taunted Kato was an ANBU member. He was known for his efficiency in assassinations, and very little else. He was not invited to the burial ceremony. He was supposed to have the week off, and he had never been known to support the current governing council. This man had to be Root. He must have been there simply to start bringing Kato in. The elder Hatake was lost, but the younger might not be.

After Sasuke stepped between the man and Kato, Yamato caged the man with his mokuton abilities. He would be imprisoned for now.

"Come with me, Kato-kun," Yamato waved him over.

"No."

Yamato narrowed his eyes at Kato. The low tone Kato used was not one he used often, and it meant business. "Don't test me. Come."

"You're not going to arrest me, too."

"I don't intend to. Now, please, come with me. You need to get out of here."

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Thirty was old for a shinobi. Early fifties was a miracle previously only achieved by the greats like Konoha's Sannin, and a few of the Kage. Hatake Kakashi had made it to his late-fifties. If the kids in school today didn't already think of their Sixth Hokage as a god, they did when they learned how old the man truly was. He had literally put in fifty-four years of service to his home, survived two major wars, one in which he was a general on the front lines, and served to uphold twenty plus years of peace as their Hokage.

He always protected his friends first, and he had many people he considered friends, even if they didn't know it. He had been tutored by the Fourth Hokage, the student of the great Jiraiya who was a team mate of the Fifth Hokage and co-student of the Third Hokage. He had served the Fourth and Third Hokage as a personal ANBU. He tutored the Fourth Hokage's son, the current Seventh Hokage. He had tutored Uchiha Sasuke, and Haruno Sakura. The rest of the class from that year looked up to him as one of their teachers as well. Even the Kazekage and his siblings held great respect for him. All of the Kage did, but those three actually occasionally called him "sensei" just like their peers in Konoha.

He was preceded in death by Haruno Sakura, Hatake Sakumo, and Hatake Kumiko. He had one surviving family member, Haruno Kato.

His extended family encompassed Kato's brother, Haruno Naoki, Kato's sister, Haruno Mai, her daughter, Uzumaki Yukiko, Uzumaki Naruto, Yamato, Uchiha Sasuke. Kakashi legacy was taught to him by Uchiha Obito, a man who studied his father's life and thought the White Fang a hero. His legacy to all of the shinobi world was that disobeying your orders made you trash, but leaving your friends behind made you far worse than trash. Work hard, study hard, play hard, love harder.

These were the things placed in Hatake Kakashi's obituary and lectured on at his funeral.

Nobody mentioned Nohara Rin. Nobody mentioned any one of Kakashi's numerous pitfalls such as his tendency to be late all the time. They didn't talk about the fact that his lover was his former student, fourteen years younger, Yamato's wife, or from a civilian family. They didn't bring up the rumor of him being more in-love with Yamato than Sakura, a lie to be sure. Nobody talked about why he was actually taken out of ANBU. It sure wasn't to train the two most dangerous genin he ended up with.

Nobody talked about him like he was just the man. Nobody really thought that part was possible these days.

Yamato thought about these things as he made his rounds through the grave yard, placing flowers in friend's vases by their headstones. He set white flowers in all but two of them. It was Sakura's birthday, so he gave her cherry blossoms and a red rose. He stayed there a while, recalling how she said once that she actually didn't like cherry blossoms at that point. It was redundant for her. He liked them, though.

At Kakashi's grave, he was suddenly at a loss. What to leave for this man?

This was the man who showed him kindness and cooperation despite knowing Yamato was technically at odds with him from the start. This was the man who helped him find a place to belong, people to care for, a life outside the shadows. This was the man who cracked jokes about his use of Mokuton and his familiarity with cats every chance he got. This was the man who slept with his wife and somehow made him feel like it was just fine. This was the man who helped feed, clothe, bathe, change the diapers of, and raise Yamato's children.

This was the only man that, if he had been a woman instead, Yamato could have loved more than he did his wife. What kind of flower could possibly express that relationship accurately? Was there a possible combination that would do it?

In the end, he chose a pink camellia for the fact that he longed for Kakashi to be around again, a multicolored chrysanthemum to emphasize the friendly nature, a yellow Zinnia to say he thought of his impact every day, and a few sweet peas to say he was glad the man got to rest now. Just for the hell of it, he added a few wall nuts as both a personal touch and to call the man crazy. After all, this man really had to be crazy for putting up with Gai's antics and for stepping between people and death on so many occasions. It was a wonder he didn't die protecting someone like that. It was possibly a blessing, too.


	17. Disbanded

All shinobi schools, facilities, and villages were ordered to disband. The individual countries had come together to form one nation, and that one nation's new government eventually ordered their new army to take-over all shinobi locations, lock the ninja out, and even order their re-settlement. They could not re-settle somewhere else, all together. No. They had to be broken up, especially the clans.

Marriages and the children they produced would be honored. Those parts of families could stay together, but young orphaned cousins? Only if they had no direct relatives to stay with, like a brother or sister who was old enough to be their guardian. Teams, no matter how long they had worked or lived together, were also broken up and sent different directions. Some remnants were allowed to stay together only because they had married one another.

It was the new government's belief that having two militaries was unnecessary, potentially even a risk. However, to any shinobi of seventeen years or more, the offer to join the new military was extended. The only catch was that they had to fight as a unit with their non-chakra-wielding fellow soldiers. They were not allowed to stand out, to advance any differently, or use any of their chakra-related techniques unless battling another person with the gift.

Anybody who fought this decision would be labeled a traitor, captured as soon as possible, and put on trial for treason. If found guilty, death by seppuku was the sentence. There was no alternative for the shinobi. They would have to be loyal, or die. If they refused to kill themselves, any loved-ones they were known to have would be placed before them and executed. The hope was that the offender would commit to death before their loved one died, only taking one life instead of two or more. Sometimes, though, things ended in a bloodbath, the shinobi even escaped a few of those times. The process would be repeated.

With the news of this treatment reaching Konoha, people began to panic. Many fled of their own accord before the new military arrived, smuggling with them precious heirlooms and documents. Many stayed to cover the tracks of those who left.

Yamanaka Izuna, second child of Aburame Shino and Yamanaka Ino was one of those who tried to flea.

Haruno Suzume was pregnant with his child, but they were not married yet, so they would not be allowed to stay together. His sister was married to Suzume's older brother, Naoki, so he could not stay with them, as one technicality made clear. He was an adult, so, despite the fact that he could move to the same part of the country as his parents, he would be required to live away from them. The point of this was to try and force people like him into the new military.

Her father said he could help forge a false marriage certificate and back-date it for them, but if any of the new military held them up and double checked with official records keeping, they'd be screwed. Izuna and Suzume were too connected to the powerful and influential people in Konoha to be overlooked, to not be double, even triple checked. Such a forgery would then do them more harm than help. It would get them caught in a lie, arrested, and anything could happen then.

So, secure in the knowledge that Suzume would at least have her father and the baby, Izuna attempted to leave, to go just far enough outside of town to wait for Suzume and her father to be sent off. He would follow them, and they would get married in the new town. He could start a flower and honey business to support them.

But it was not to be. When the military came, they questioned Suzume about the father of her child. They questioned her father, her sister, her brothers. It was a neighbor that gave him up, hoping to earn favor for their own family by turning on the shinobi family.

By hiding, he was automatically considered a potential threat. He was hunted, exhausted by long-range attacks and cornering techniques. When he was finally surrounded, they brought Suzume out, pistol to her temple, and ordered his surrender.

All because of the new politics, scenes like this played out everywhere. Eventually, the use of chakra was banned all together. Anyone caught using it for anything, even healing purposes, would be arrested. The lightest sentence given was a week in jail, and that was for healing scrapes and bruises. The history of shinobi became legends, then myths, and then only rarely found in fairy-tales. By then, ninety-nine percent of those with defining characteristics like the white eyes of the Hyuuga were killed off, some even hunted down for the use of their unusual organs in quack medications.

The shinobi had vanished within three generations.

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There was a talking dog in her living room.

She didn't register what it said, only that it spoke.

"Guess you don't remember me?" the pug frowned.

"Who...? How?"

"Name's Pakkun," the elderly dog replied. "You always played with me at your grandfather Kato's house... you were only four the last time we met, so..."

"What do you want?" Yamanaka Sakura demanded.

"I want to give you something," the pug said, turning around to pull a large box her direction. "It belonged to your great-grandparents."

"But... But you're a talking dog! Talking dogs belong in bedtime stories!"

The dog shook his head. "Don't you know anything about summons?"

"They're mythical creatures-"

"We're real, and your mother sent me over with this stuff, so please take it. You don't have much time to decide."

"Decide on what?"

"Whether to keep me and my pack around or banish us forever!"

The blond's jaw dropped. "How?"

The dog sat back down with a sigh. "Got time for another 'bedtime' story?"

Her ass hit the kitchen floor. Pakkun took it as a yes.

"I was born to a stray in Konohagakure no Sato about... well, your great-grandfather was only three at the time. His father brought me home as a birthday present to your great-great-grandmother. Though I survived when the rest of my litter mates died, she was leery or taking me in. It was Kakashi who sealed the deal.

"He taught me like any other dog, but I started talking one day, and they realized my mother either wasn't a stray, or she had mated a ninken. So I became a soldier under the boy's command. Other ninken showed up later on, all of them orphans that had lost either their pack or their human families. Some of them, Kakashi kept and had me help teach. We became our own pack, Kakashi our leader, and me in second command.

"Every day of Kakashi's life was hard. He was very young for a human, and already they were asking him to fill in for much more experienced adults. He was only thirty-years-old when he became a general in a massive war that required cooperation between once bitter rivals and enemies.

"When things settled down at the end of the war, we found him, dying, even though most of the healers had already congregated around him. It was your great-grandmother, your namesake, Haruno Sakura, that found the way to save him. She had watched another woman, an elder who was once rivals with her mentor, save a boy's life by giving up her own. All of the pack, including myself, offered to be a sacrifice if it would help her save our leader.

"Sakura-chan gave up a part of her life to save him, and a part of each of our lives, too... but something else happened. Her summon, and the summons of other friends aided, and we all ended up sharing a part of our souls with one another that day. The three summons gained a better hold on this world, and all of us in the pack became capable of living in their world. It is now harder for us to stay here in this world where we were born.

"So now we require a contract like the true summons do. If no one passes us down from generation to generation, we will be banished forever... You're the last one in Kakashi's direct line. He only had one child. and Kato had your grandmother, and she had your mother who had you. It would be appropriate for you to take us... but someone else can be found if you don't want us. It will take a lot of time, though, and your mother is sick. She has to hand us over to the next person, and we have to accept, before we'll be safe.

"We played with you all the time when you were younger, and we miss you."

She shook her head. "No dog lives to be that old!"

"That's your father's influence," the dog growled a little. "That man was a jerk. I can't believe you ended up living with him instead of your mother!"

"The doctors said she was insane," Sakura said. "I couldn't live with an insane woman, so they gave me to my father."

"And he tried telling you everything she said was a figment of her imagination, didn't he?" Pakkun demanded.

"That's it!" she jumped up, smiling suddenly. "I must be going crazy, too! Maybe it's passed down genetically? I should call Mom's old therapist!"

"That won't be necessary if you would just go through this box-"

"Where did I put that phone number?"

"I'll go!" Pakkun yelled at her, appearing in front of her phone. "Just promise you'll go through the box soon... your mother is dying."

She held up her hands, backing off, "Alright already! I'll open the damn box! What's in it?"

"Journals. Tools. Photos. All of them very old. Hopefully, you'll understand them. We don't need you to be a kunoichi. We just need you to care."

With that, he disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving the blond coughing in her kitchen, confused as to when her life had become part of an old bedtime story her mother used to tell. Sure, she knew that her great-grandparents names were Haruno Sakura and Hatake Kakashi. Sure, she remembered her grandfather, Haruno Kato. He used to show her little magic tricks like turning on a lightbulb held only by his fingers. And, yes, she did remember playing with a lot of dogs at his place. He had a huge house and an even bigger yard on the outskirts of the city. Everything outside that part of town had grown up into a thriving metropolis, but his house was practically rustic compared to what she was used to.

She even had a photo in an old album on the bookshelf which showed her mother as a child, playing with...a pug...with a headband...like the one she'd just had the odd conversation with... that told her a story...

Fuck.

Fuck!

Could it really be? She dashed for the family room and opened up to the picture in question. There was a ten-year-old version of her mother on the floor with an exact copy of the dog she'd just been talking with. In the background was a thirty-something-year-old Haruno Kato and an older man with dark hair and dark brown eyes handing Kato a strange piece of metal with cloth straps. It must have been her grandmother that took the photo. This piece information bolstering her spirit, she turned back to the box the dog had brought.

She opened it carefully, finding items of clothing on top. She pulled out two tattered, green vests with multiple pockets. One of them still had objects inside. She made the decision then. Anything she needed to investigate went to her left. Anything that was straight forward went to her right. The next item was a faded, pale pink skirt. Well, it was more of an apron, with plenty more pockets. It appeared empty, so she put it to her right with the empty vest.

Next were the pictures. On top of three albums lay a portfolio of drawings and paintings. They were well done, and in a style she recognized as being her father's grandfather's work. In his early years, the man hadn't signed his works. After he reached his twenties, he only signed them with his first name, Sai, and a few years after that was when he gave each and every picture a name. The only one he'd done that for before he was twenty was one that was never found called "friends."

There she saw painted representations of her other great-grandfather's friends, some of which Yamanaka Sakura was related to. There was her namesake in a wedding gown, holding hands with Hatake Kakashi, but kissing the groom, Yamato who would take the Haruno surname. There was Yamanaka Ino, pregnant, being held dearly by Aburame Shino, Ino's soon to be head-of-clan boyfriend. A picture of a dark haired woman with her eyes left unfinished had her puzzled for a moment. Was this woman blind? The next painting showed the same woman sitting at a cafe table with a blond man. This one entitled "bold and shy" and noted at the bottom to be of Hyuuga Hinata and Uzumaki Naruto. Sakura remembered that Uzumaki Naruto was the star of several of her mother's bedtime stories.

She set the paintings to her left. These were moments she wanted to go back through later. They were more candid than most photos.

Picking up the photo albums, she hesitated. The dates listed on the front cover of the first one showed that they were from a time when this now thriving city was just being rebuilt after a massively detrimental event. History said it was an earthquake that knocked out the little village of Konohagakure no Sato, as it was called back then. Her mother said it was a battle between the locals and an invading force of very strong opponents. The crater-like impression could still be made out today. Now, though, it was encased in concrete and made into a massive amphitheater.

Breathing deeply, she opened the cover.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awkward ending. It's all I came up with when originally writing this. Sorry about that. Maybe I'll do something like this for the other families mentioned. Maybe not.


End file.
